


Life On the Outside

by SomeSouthParkFan



Category: South Park
Genre: Life after jail, Lost Love, M/M, unhappy reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-08-05 03:23:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 32,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16359788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSouthParkFan/pseuds/SomeSouthParkFan
Summary: Kenny McCormick spent the last 15 years in jail. He's finally released and has to adjust to life outside of jail.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another new story! I hope you guys enjoy it.

Life On the Outside

Chapter 1

Kenny’s POV 

I’m sitting in my jail cell looking at the calendar. I mark off another day. It officially marks 5,565 days, 15 years and 3 months that I’ve been behind bars. I’m 32 years old and I’ve been in here since I was 17. They didn’t send me to juvenile hall, they sent me straight to prison. I’ve been granted parole so I’m finally getting released today. I was afraid this day would never come and that I would die in here. Originally, I was given a life sentence, but it was reduced due to good behavior. Good behavior wasn’t easy considering I had to deal with bullying, assault, and rape while in here. I’m glad it’s almost over. 

The warden comes and unlocks my cell. “McCormick? You’re free to go.” He escorts me to get my things, which isn’t much. I get the clothes that I had when I first got here, which still surprisingly fit. I also have pictures of my family and one of Kyle. Like I said, I don’t have much. “Your ride is waiting out front.” The warden tells me. 

I head out and I see Karen waiting for me. “Hi Kenny!” She runs over to me and hugs me as tight as she can. It feels nice to be able to see and talk to her without a glass in between us. 

“Hey. Are you okay?” I ask her. I know that she was safe while I was in jail, but I was worried about her and how she would get along without me around. 

She looks at me. “Are you okay? You’re the one that’s been in jail for 15 years.”

I shrug as we walk out. “It feels so weird. I never thought I would see this again.” I tell her as I look around. I was barely allowed to leave my cell so it’s nice and refreshing to see the sun and smell the fresh air. 

She hugs me once again. “I’m so glad you’re out. Are you going to stay with me?”

I nod. “I guess so. I know mom and Kevin don’t want me at the house. They hate me…”

“I’m sorry Kenny.” She looks away. 

“Stop! I made my choices, it’s okay.” 

“I feel like it’s my fault.”

I grab her and look her in the eyes. “Don’t say that! It’s not your fault! Again, I made a choice.”

“Do you want something to eat?”

I shake my head. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Okay, well maybe later.” We get in her car. On the drive to her house, we’re playing catch up. Well, Karen is doing most of the talking. I’m looking out the window and I can’t believe how different everything looks. This place is almost unrecognizable. 

When we arrive at her house, we go inside and the first person I see is a young Canadian guy. He turns and glares at me. “You remember Ike, right?” Karen asks me. 

“Broflovski?” I smile, man Kyle’s little brother has really grown up. “Of course! How are you?” I extend my hand to him, but he’s not receptive to it. 

“I’m doing well. I would ask how you are, but I’m sure not the best since you’ve been in jail for 15 years.” He glares at me. 

“How’s Kyle?” I ask. I can sense a little tension so I thought I would change the subject. 

“He’s fine.”

“Just fine? Can I have his number? I would love to talk to him.”

“Umm...maybe later. So you’re going to be staying here?” He asks and I nod. “I need to go over the rules of the house first.”

“Rules?”

“Yes, we have rules!”

“Okay...”

“Rule number 1, clean up after yourself. You’re an adult, older than all of us. There’s no reason why you can’t! Don’t even think about eating food you didn’t buy.”

“That’s fine.”

“We have a curfew, you have to be in by midnight. If you know you’ll be out later than that, you either call and let someone know or stay wherever you are. We lock the deadbolt at midnight.”

“I don’t think that should be an issue.”

“If you break something that doesn’t belong to you, replace it! There’s no smoking or drinking allowed in the house or on the property. No parties, no company after 10, no incoming calls after midnight unless it’s an emergency.”

Sheesh, I feel like I’m in jail again. “Not a problem.”

“Good. Are you planning to stay awhile?” The way he asked made me feel uneasy. 

I shrug. “I’m not sure, I just got out of jail and I don’t really have a plan.”

He shakes his head in disappointment. “Plan to get a job and start paying rent if you plan to stay for more than a month!”

“I’ll take care of his rent Ike.” Karen tells him. 

“This isn’t jail, you won’t be living here for free! Are you sure you feel safe with him living here? I don’t think Filmore or Flora do.”

Karen rolls her eyes. “That’s my problem, not yours. Come on Kenny. I’ll show you my room.” She takes me upstairs to her room. I’m proud of my sister, she’s living in a house that has stairs. We never had that luxury growing up. I’m even more shocked, when I see the size of her bedroom! It’s bigger than our old house!

“What’s his problem?” I ask about Ike. 

Karen shrugs. “That’s how Ike always is. Don’t worry about his “rules”, no one listens to him.”

“Who put him in charge anyway?”

She laughs. “He put himself in charge. Like I said, no one listens to him.”

“I’m sorry you have to live like this.”

“He doesn’t bother me. Most of the time, we’re working different schedules so we barely see each other.” 

“What about your other roommates?” 

“They’re great. We don’t have any issues.” 

“That’s good.” 

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” 

I nod. “I’m sure. I don’t think Ike would take too kindly to me eating the food here since I didn’t buy anything.” 

Karen frowns. “Don’t be ridiculous! We do our own grocery shopping so you would be eating my food! Besides, I was going to take you out to eat.” 

“You really don’t have to do that.” 

“It’s the least I could do. You’ve been through so much.”

“You’re giving me a place to stay, you’ve done more than anyone else has.” 

“I’m going to help you apply for jobs tomorrow.”

“Thanks, I don’t even know where to start. I have the feeling potential employers will see my record and reject me.”

“Someone will give you a shot. I’m sure of it.” 

“We live in an unforgiving world.”

“Don’t be so negative. It will work out.” She smiles. 

“I hope. I really don’t want to stay here longer than I have to. Ike really rubbed me the wrong way.” 

“Ignore him. You’re not here for him.” 

“Yeah, but if I have to listen to that shit-“

“You don’t!” Karen interrupts me. “Stop worrying, everything will be fine!” 

“I hope so. I should call Cartman so we can catch up.” Maybe I can get Kyle’s number from him since Ike wouldn’t give it to me.

“Now? You just came home.” 

“I know, but he’s the only person, besides you, that called or visited me in jail. I wouldn’t know who else to turn to.”

Karen giggles. “That still surprises me.” 

“Well most people don’t want to be associated with a jail bird.” 

“Stop…” 

“It’s the truth.” 

“You’re being too hard on yourself.” 

“It hurts most that I never heard from Kyle.” 

“That’s because you pushed him away.” 

I shake my head. “I just told him not to wait for me. He still could’ve come to visit.” 

“I’m sure he had his reasons.” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Do you know something I don’t?” 

Karen shakes her head. “Honestly, no. I haven’t kept up with Kyle.”

“His brother is one of your roommates, how is that possible?” 

“Ike isn’t close to Kyle nor does he talk about him. Sorry Kenny.” 

“It’s okay. I’m sure we’ll cross paths eventually.” 

“Yeah. Well I know I sound like I’m beating a dead horse, but are you sure you’re not hungry?” 

“I promise you, I’m not.” 

“I am and I’m going to get something to eat. Do you want to come with?” 

I shake my head. “No. I’m not ready to go out and about yet. I’m just going to stay here, if that’s okay.” 

She smiles. “Of course it’s okay. I want you to feel comfortable.” 

“Thanks. I’ll see you when I get back.” 

“See you.” She leaves. I really don’t know what to do to keep myself occupied while she’s gone. Maybe I’ll think about what it’s going to be like when I reunite with Kyle…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Kenny’s POV 

I used Karen’s phone to call Cartman and he came to pick me up. He wanted me to see his house and then we’re going to hang out to catch up. “This is really nice!” I tell him as we’re making our way up to the third story. It’s really nice to see how everyone is an adult now with real responsibilities like homes and bills. I feel so far behind them. 

“Thanks dude.” Cartman smiles as we head into the master suite. “Of course you remember Heidi, right? She’s my wife as I’ve told you before.” He points to Heidi who’s brushing her hair.

“Hi Kenny!” Heidi stands up and the first thing I notice is she’s very pregnant. She gives me a hug. 

“Hi!” I look at her belly. “Look at you! Congratulations, how far along are you?”

“Thanks, I’m seven months!”

I look at Cartman. “Dude, you didn’t tell me you two were having a baby!”

Cartman smiles and nods. “Yes, were having a boy!” He rubs Heidi’s belly and then kisses her stomach. “I just felt him kick again! That’s my boy! My future soccer player.” He kisses Heidi’s belly again. I’m surprised by Cartman’s behavior. He’s so caring and doting towards Heidi. I didn’t think he had it in him. 

“I’m happy for you guys.” I tell them. 

“Thank you!”

“I’ll let you guys talk.” Heidi tells us as she gets ready to leave the room, but Cartman stops her.

“No babe, you stay here. We’ll go downstairs. You know the doctor said you shouldn’t be on your feet for long.”

“Your right honey.” She kisses him. “It was nice seeing you Kenny.”

“You too.” I tell her as I give her another hug before Cartman and I head downstairs to the living room. I sit down on the couch and Cartman hands me a beer. 

“So you’re staying with Karen?” He asks before sitting down in his recliner. 

I nod. “Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to stay long. I can’t deal with Ike.”

He nods in agreement. “Yeah, he can be quite the little prick. Have you heard from Kyle?”

I shake my head. “I tried to get his number from Ike, but he wouldn’t give it to me.”

“Wow, what a dick!”

“Do you have his number?”

“I can do better. I can take you to see him.”

My eyes light up like a kid in a candy store. “You would do that?”

“Sure, why not?” He walks over to the stairs. “Hey Heidi?” He yells.

“Yeah?” She yells back. 

“I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back.” 

“Okay baby, I love you!”

“Love you too honey!” He looks at me. “Are you ready?” I nod and we head out to his car. About ten minutes later, we pull up in front of a huge house. 

“This is his house?” 

Cartman nods. “Yeah, he has his own veterinarian practice so he’s making a pretty decent living.” 

You know, if it were anyone else, I would feel like a lowlife compared to him. But it’s Kyle. I know he would never treat me like I’m inferior to him. “Good for him. Thank you so much for bringing me here.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?” 

I shake my head. “No, I want some alone time with Kyle.” 

“Uh…well let me wait until he lets you in before I drive off.” Why does he seem uneasy about this? “Have Kyle text me when you’re ready to go. If he lets you in.”

I swear I need to get my own phone. “I will. Thanks again Cartman!” I eagerly get out of the car and head to the door. I hesitate for a moment before ringing the doorbell. I wish I had cleaned myself up a little more for Kyle or put on a decent outfit, but I’m very limited on that right now. He’ll understand. I smile when he opens the door. 

“Kenny?” He looks shocked to see me. 

“Kyle!” I hug him tightly. It feels so good to hug him again. He still smells like the Nautica cologne he use to wear when we were in high school.

“Dude! Get off of me!” Kyle pushes me off of him and I’m completely taken aback. He comes outside and closes the door. “You can’t just hug people without permission! What’s wrong with you? What are you doing here anyway? You should be in jail!” 

I’m almost speechless as this wasn’t the welcome I expected from him. “I’m out on parole.” I tell him. “I thought you might be happy to see me.”

“You can’t just pop up at my house unexpectedly! How did you know where I live?” 

I point at Cartman in the car. “He brought me here.” I see Cartman wave. 

Kyle frowns and waves back. “Oh I wish he didn’t.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

“I’m married now Kenny.” 

My eyes widen. “You are?” 

He nods. “Yes and you shouldn’t be here.” 

I look down and start kicking my feet. “I wasn’t expecting you to be married. I had hoped that-“

“That what?” He interrupts me. Suddenly, he seems so angry. “That I was waiting for you? Dude, you had a life sentence! I didn’t expect to see you again. I’ve moved on. I have a family now.” 

“You do?” Wow, he really has moved on. 

“Yes, Stan and I adopted a little girl.”

He’s married to Stan? Wow. “Oh…I see.” I look at him and smile. “Are you happy?” 

“What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I am! I’m living the life I always wanted! I wanted a career, a house, a husband, and children. I have everything I’ve ever wanted! So yes, I’m VERY happy!”

Part of me thinks he’s projecting a bit. “I’m happy for you…and Stan.” 

“Thank you.” 

“So I guess Stan must be home that’s why you’re not letting me in?” 

Kyle nods. “He is, plus Emily, our daughter, is taking a nap. You really should’ve called first.” 

“I don’t have a phone.” I tell him, slightly embarrassed. 

“Oh, I guess it didn’t think about that.” He turns towards the door. “I guess I’ll see you around…”

“Wait?” 

He turns back around. “Yes?” 

“Can we maybe hang out sometime? I would love to catch up with you. I want to know what you’ve been up for the past 15 years.”

“I just told you that Stan and I are married and raising a daughter. We’re planning to adopt another one within the next year or so.”

“That’s all you’ve been up to for 15 years?”

Just then, the door opens and Stan comes outside. “Kyle, who was at the...” He looks up and sees me. “Kenny McCormick? Is that you?”

I nod. “Yes it’s me. Hi Stan.”

“When did you get out jail?”

“Yesterday.” I inform him. 

“Oh okay I’m glad you’re out...I guess. I’m actually surprised.”

“I made parole.”

“Interesting. I expected you to rot in jail.” He looks at Kyle. “You better come back in before you catch a cold.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Kyle tells him. 

“It was nice seeing you Kenny.”

“You too. I hope we can catch up sometime.”

“We’ll see.” He focuses his attention on Kyle. “Come on Kyle. Emmy should be awake soon.” He takes Kyle’s hand to escort him back in the house.

“See you around Kenny.” Kyle tells me before they go back in the house. Rejected, I go back to Cartman’s car and close the door. 

“What happened?” Cartman asks me. 

“He wouldn’t let me inside.” I tell him.

“Sorry dude.” He drives off. 

“Why didn’t you tell me he’s married to Stan?” 

He shrugs. “It was better for you to hear it from him.” 

“Oh I did. He was…kind of cold.” I tell him as I reminisce about the conversation we just had. 

Cartman snorts. “I’m glad he was! You can do better than that stupid Jew anyway!” 

“I don’t know who was worse, Kyle or Stan. He couldn’t get Kyle away from me quick enough. Is Stan the reason he never called?” 

“I honestly don’t know. It never came up in conversation.” 

“What did they do? Act like I never existed?” 

Cartman nods. “Yeah, pretty much.” 

“Wow…” That really hurts knowing they felt that way. 

“Forget about them. Do you want to go and grab a drink or something?” 

I shake my head. “No thanks dude. I just want to get back to Karen’s.” Cartman nods and the rest of the car ride is silent. I waited 15 years to see Kyle again and he’s moved on and doesn’t want anything to do with me. I guess my hope for a future with him is officially dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kenny’s POV 

Karen let me sleep in her bed and she decided to sleep on the couch. I swear this is best sleep I’ve ever had. Her bed is really comfortable. “Kenny?” I hear someone whisper my name in my sleep. I open one eye and see Ike standing over me.

“Ike?” I say as I close my eye. 

“Get up!” He orders. 

“What time is it?” I ask as I open my eyes and sit up. 

“11am. What do you think this is?” He hits the bed. “Get up! The grownups go to work around here!”

“So why are you here?”

His face turns red. “I work at night! Go do something productive!”

“What exactly are you doing? Besides harassing me!”

He narrows his eyes and moves closer to me. “Speaking of harassing, why are you harassing my brother?”

My eyes widen. “What? I’m not harassing him!”

“You showed up at his house uninvited!”

“I wanted to see him.”

“I didn’t give you his number for a reason. Why couldn’t you take a hint?”

“Like I said, I wanted to see him. What’s wrong with that?”

“Do you really think Kyle wants you around him and his family? You’re a threat to society!”

I look down. “No I’m not.”

“It’s not only about Kyle anymore, he has a husband and a daughter to think about!”

I look at him and frown. “You make it seem like I’m going to harm them.”

“You might...”

“I wouldn’t do that!” I immediately get defensive. 

“Either way, you leave Kyle and Stan alone! They’re happy and don’t need you messing things up for them.”

“That’s not what I’m doing?”

“Then why did you tell Kyle you want to go on a date with him?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t ask him on a date, I asked to hang out to catch up.”

He gets even closer to me. “He told you he has a husband! You’re a disrespectful little twerp you know that?”

I turn my head away from him. “I’m not going to have this conversation with you!”

“I may not be that close to my brother, but I will NOT tolerate you harassing him! If it happens again, you’re out of here!”

I chuckle. “You can’t kick me out! This is my sister’s place too!”

“Your sister that you’re leeching off of, might I add! We’re allowing you to stay here as a favor to her. You break one of the rules and you’re gone! Stay away from Kyle! That’s an order!”

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” We turn and see Karen standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. 

“I’m having a discussion with your brother. I talked to Filmore and Flora and neither one of them are comfortable with him living here giving his history.”

“Leave my brother alone! He’s my problem, not yours!”

Ike glares at me one last time. “You just remember what I said about Kyle!” He threatens. 

“Go!” Karen points at the door. Ike leaves and Karen sits down on the bed. “I’m so sorry about that.”

I shrug. “It’s no big deal. I’m beginning to realize this is the treatment I’m going to get.”

“Don’t worry about that. You have two job interviews today!”

“Really?” I wasn’t expecting that. 

She smiles and nods. “Yes, one at McDonalds at 1:30 and another at J-Mart at 4.”

“Thank you Karen.”

“I even got you a suit.” She hands me a shopping bag. I look inside and see a black suit. “I hope it’s not too big.”

“Thanks...” I look down as I think about Ike saying I’m leeching off of Karen. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel guilty.”

“Why?”

I look at her. “Because you’re basically taking care of me.”

“So?”

“So, I’m your big brother, I should be taking care of you.”

“Don’t worry about that. You just finished serving a 15 year jail sentence. You’re not expected to be on our feet. Besides, we’re family and family helps family. Now go get ready for your interview!” She orders. 

“Yes ma’am!”

Karen takes me to McDonalds and I walk in and feel a little self conscious and overdressed. I was told the manager would be with me momentarily. I look around and it seems like it’s nothing but teenagers working here. That could work in my favor. They would be too young to know my story. “Kenny McCormick?” A young man greets me.

I nod. “Yes, that’s me.” 

“Hi, I’m Ben Johnson, the shift supervisor. I’ll be conducting your interview.” We shake hands. “Follow me.” I follow him to the back. “I promised your sister I would interview you. I’m surprised you want this job you seem a little old. You do realize this job only pays minimum wage, right?”

I nod. “I need to get on my feet.” 

He smiles. “I understand, we all have to start somewhere.” He gestures for me to sit down. “Now let me look over your application.”

I swallow nervously. “Okay…”

I can see him studying my application. “You have a GED, no prior work experience…” He continues to look over my application. He stops and looks up at me. “Can you excuse me for a moment?” 

“Sure…” He walks out. Uh oh! I have a bad feeling about this. About 20 minutes later, Ben returns and he doesn’t look too happy. 

“Sorry about that. I know we didn’t get far in the interview, but I’m afraid we can’t hire you.” 

“Oh…may I ask why?”

“I think you know the answer.” He’s right, I do. I just want to hear him say it out loud.

“Because of my conviction?” He nods. “I understand. Thank you and I’m sorry I wasted your time.” 

“Good luck with your job search.” He shakes my hand. 

“Thanks, I’ll need it.” I head back to Karen’s car. I get in, but don’t say a word. 

Karen smiles. “So…how did it go?” I shake my head to which her smile immediately turns to a frown. “He’s not going to hire you?”

“Because I’m a convict.” I let out a deep sigh. “No one is going to hire me Karen.”

“That’s not true. Someone will. You still have another interview. How about you get a bite to eat before you go to that one?”

I shake my head again. “No thanks, I’m too depressed.”

“Oh come on Kenny. It was one job! I’m sure the next one will go well.” I love her optimism, but I just don’t feel the same way.

“Do you know the manager here too?”

“No, but Flora does. She works at J-Mart part time.”

“Great…” I know I’m screwed. 

“You’ll be fine. You’ll see.” 

A few hours later, during my interview at J-Mart…

“No!” The hiring manager tells me. I can’t say that I’m surprised, but maybe I’ll try a different approach. 

“Sir, I know I have a conviction, but-“

“You’re a murderer!” He interrupts me. “I just can’t put my other employees or customers in that kind of danger.”

I shake my head. “But I’m not a threat. If I were, don’t you think I would still be in jail?”

“You need to leave.” 

I’m probably going to regret this, but I get down on my knees. “All I want is a second chance so I can get on my feet. Please sir, I promise I’ll do a good job!”

He slowly shakes his head. “I’m really sorry Kenny. Please leave.”

“Yes sir…” I say defeated. I get up and head back out to the door. 

“Any luck?” Karen asks when I get in the car. 

“Same issue as McDonald’s.”

Karen scowls. “That’s not fair!” 

“That’s the way the world works Karen. Murderers don’t get second chances. I would be better off in jail.”

“Don’t say that. You’ll get something.”

“I just want to go home…no, I don’t even want to go there.” The last thing I want to do is deal with Ike. 

“Where do you want to go?”

“I need to be alone.”

“I’m not leaving you alone!”

“I’ll be okay. I’ll come home later.” 

Karen shakes her head. “That’s not a good idea. You don’t have a phone so I have no way of getting in touch with you. Just come home with me, you can stay in my room. I promise I won’t let Ike bother you.”

“Karen, I’m not a child. I can handle being out on my own.”

“I don’t care how old you are, you’re my responsibility right now and I’m not letting you out alone and that’s final!”

I throw my hands up in defeat. “You win! I don’t want to argue with you.” 

“Smart choice!” She drives off. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Something has to change…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kenny’s POV 

After Karen left for work, I decided to take a walk. I needed some fresh air and to be away from Ike. During my walk, I end up in my old neighborhood. It still looks the same as it did 15 years ago, shocker! I walk up to my old house and knock on the door. Kevin opens it and he doesn’t look happy at all. “Hi Kevin...” I greet him. 

He immediately punches me in the face, knocking me to the ground. “I’ve waited 15 years to do that!”

I touch my face where he hit me. “I deserve that…”

“You deserve a hell of a lot more. You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here! What are you doing out of jail? Did you escape?”

I stand up and shake my head. “No, I was released on parole!”

Kevin frowns. “Are you fucking kidding me? You murdered our father in cold blood and you get parole? There really is no justice.”

I look down. “I’m really sorry.”

“Get the hell out of here! You’re not welcomed here!”

“I want to see mom!” I tell him. 

“Like she wants to see you!”

“I know you guys are pissed at me-“

“You killed dad!” Kevin interrupts me. “You stabbed him to death! There’s nothing more than any of us have to say to you!”

“Karen is the only one that kept in touch with me while I was in jail.”

“She’s stupid for that!”

“Don’t call her stupid! I needed her just like I needed you and mom.” 

Kevin scowls. “You have a lot of nerve! We needed dad to live!”

I really don’t want to keep arguing with him. “Please let me see mom!” I beg him. 

“I’m not going to let you upset her!”

“I’m not, I just wants to talk to her.”

Kevin glares at me. “You have two minutes.” He lets me go inside. I go to mom’s room and the room is exactly how it was when dad was still alive. I look at mom and she’s lying in the bed under the covers. She doesn’t look healthy at all.

“Mom?” I say as I move closer to her. 

She sits up and smiles. “Stuart? Is that my darling Stuart?” 

That’s odd. She knows my dad is dead. “No mom. It’s me Kenny.”

“Kenny?” She asks confused.

“Your son...”

She frowns. “I don’t have a son Kenny! He’s dead to me!”

“Mom, I’m really sorry.” I try to take her hand, but she slaps my hand away. 

“You took my Stuart from me!”

“If you will let explain-“

“GET OUT!” She grabs a bottle and throws it at me. I duck and it hits the wall. “Get out and don’t come back! You’re not wanted here!”

“Mom, please!” I beg her. 

“You heard her, her lost!” Kevin grabs me by my shirt and pushes me out of the room. 

“I wish you guys would listen to me.”

“We don’t want to hear it!”

“Is mom okay?” 

“No she’s not okay! She’s still mourning her husband!” 

“She’s lost a lot of weight since I last saw her.” 

Kevin rolls his eyes. You’re crazier than I thought if you think I’m going to open up to you about mom! Now leave and don’t come back!” I go outside and Kevin slams the door. I let out a sigh and continue my walk. 

My walk leads me to Cartman’s house. I knock on the door. “Hey dude.” I greet him when he opens to door.

Cartman narrows his eyes. “Are you okay? How did you get here?”

“I walked...” I sigh.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Are you free to talk? I really could use a friend right now.”

“Come on in.” I walk in the house and he closes the door. 

“Are you alone?” I ask him. It’s nothing against Heidi, but I don’t want to say too much if she’s around. 

Cartman nods. “Heidi’s our shopping with her mom. So what’s up?”

“I went to my old house.” 

He looks at my face. “I’m guessing that’s how you got that black eye?”

I raise my eyebrow. “I have a black eye?” He nods. “Shit, how am I going to explain that to Karen?”

“I want to know what happened, besides you getting decked.”

“That’s how Kevin greeted me when he opened the door. He didn’t want me there and can’t believe I’m out of jail. I went to talk to my mom, which he almost didn’t let me do. She’s losing it. She thought I was my dad. Then she told me I’m dead to her, threw a bottle at me, then she kicked me out. Cartman, they don’t want anything to do with me.” I look down. I can feel my eyes begin to well up. “Things could be different, but…”

“Kenny…look at me.” I look at him. “Don’t you think it’s time for the truth to come out?”

My eyes widen. “No way!” 

“Why not?”

“It would destroy Karen!”

“So you’d rather have everyone think you’re a killer?”

I nod. “As much as it hurts, I can handle it for the most part. Karen is really sensitive. She wouldn’t know how to respond to people being so mean to her.” 

“Dude, she’s 28 now. I’m sure she can handle it. It’s you I’m worried about.” 

“I’ll be fine.” I sigh, “I may never find a job or have the love or respect from my family or anyone else, like Kyle, but I’ll be fine.”

Cartman raises his eyebrow. “Is Karen even aware of what really happened?” 

I shake my head. “No and I want to keep it that way.” 

“Why?” 

“I can’t tell her that she really killed our dad.” 

“But it’s not fair to you. You spent 15 years in jail for a crime you didn’t commit!”

“But it would kill her to know that she’s responsible. I have to protect my sister.” 

“You said she was drugged right?” I nod. “I mean that could work in her favor. She could say the drug did it.” He shrugs. 

“She has no memory of that horrible night. What my dad did to her…honestly, if she didn’t kill him, I probably would have!”

“Don’t talk like that.”

I can feel myself being overcome with anger just thinking about that night. “I’m serious! She was only 13! What sick bastard drugs and rapes their 13 year old daughter?” 

“It’s disgusting!”

“Karen can never know what really happened. I’m not going to mess up her life!”

“Instead, you messed up yours.”

“She was just a child.”

“Technically, you were too.”

“I was almost legal. Karen was practically a baby. I remember it like it happened yesterday.” I bury my head in my hands on the verge of tears again. “If only I had gotten home sooner, I could’ve stopped it from happening.”

“No dude, you can’t blame yourself! Your dad was a sick fuck!”

“I shouldn’t have left her home alone with him…”

“Look at me!” I look at him. He grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “It’s not your fault! This is all the more reason you need to tell Karen. The two of you can get the help you need in dealing with this.” 

“She’s fine. She’s happy and living her life. I can’t, I just can’t.” 

“You have to do something. Clearly the blame is getting to you.” 

“Thanks for listening, but I need to go.” I stand up.

“Dude, wait!” 

“I appreciate you keeping this a secret all this time. Remember, no one can ever know!” I remind him.

“I won’t say anything. Heidi doesn’t even know so that should tell you something.”

I nod. “Thank you. Again, thank you for listening.” 

“No problem dude. I really think you should reconsider telling Karen.”

“I’ve already made up my mind about that. The answer is no! Later dude!” I rush out of the house. I know Cartman is trying to help, but I’m not doing that to Karen. I’m the one who made that sacrifice to protect her and I’m sticking to that. Karen can never find out the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kenny’s POV 

It’s been a week and I still haven’t had any luck on the job search. I’ve been on 12 interviews and they all turned me down because of my conviction. I’ve been down so Karen decided to take me out to an arcade/bar. “Why did you bring me here?” I ask her. I’m not really in the mood to be around people.

Karen smiles. “You use to love coming here when we were younger. I thought maybe it would cheer you up.”

“Thanks Karen, But-“

“No buts!” She interrupts me. “You need to get out and stop moping around. I’ll get you some points so you can play games.”

“You really don’t have to.” I tell her. 

“I want to. I want you to enjoy yourself.”

“Can’t we just get a drink or something?” I ask pointing at the bar. I figure the alcohol will help numb some of my pain. 

“Fine.” We go to the bar and Karen orders us a round of drinks.

“Hey Karen!” I hear a slurring voice call out to her.

Karen turns her head. “Oh...hi Butters.” I look and I’m in shock that it’s Butters. He looks the same as he did as a teenager, just a little taller and now has a beard. I’m also shocked that he seems drunk. 

“How have you been?” He sits down on the other side of her. 

“Fine, you?”

“Great now I’m seeing you. You’re looking good!” He stares her up and down smiling. This isn’t the Butters I remember. 

“Thanks Butters.” I can tell Karen seems a little uncomfortable. 

“I really missed you...” He tries to put his arm around her, but she pushes it away. 

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Not enough.” He takes her drink and drinks some of it. “Would you like to come home with me or are you still doing the virgin thing?”

Karen frowns. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Besides, I’m hanging out with my brother.” She points at me. 

Butters looks at me and rubs his eyes. “Kenny? I didn’t realize that was you. When did you get out of jail?”

“A week ago.” I tell him. 

“Huh!” He now moves in between Karen and me. “Have you seen Kyle?”

I nod. “I did.”

“Oh…it must have hurt seeing him with Stan, huh?” I frown at him. “I mean they’re so happy together it’s almost sickening. But they make a cute couple. They went from best friends, to lovers, to business partners, and now they’re a family.”

I wasn’t expecting that info. “Business partners? I thought Kyle had his own veterinarian clinic?”

“It’s a joint clinic with Stan. They’re both vets. Have you been to their house? I swear it’s like a zoo, they have a lot of pets. Two dogs, two cats, a bird, four fish, an iguana, a rabbit, and a guinea pig. They have an adorable daughter too. I’m really happy for them.” Butters rambles. 

“Butters? Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Karen asks him. 

He shakes his head. “Not really.” He focuses his attention back on me. “So anyway Kenny, what did you think about Kyle now? Doesn’t he seem happier?” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Are you implying he wasn’t happy with me?” 

“He was, but it’s not the same like he is now. Kyle was just a boy when you two were together. You were his first everything. Stan made Kyle a real man. He taught him about life and REAL love. He showed him there was more than South Park out there. He took Kyle on a world tour, there isn’t a place on this earth they haven’t been.”

“Did you want something Butters?” Karen asks interrupting Butters’ rambling again. 

Butters blows a kiss at Karen. “I wanted you, but I’m glad I got to catch up with Kenny.”

“I don’t think Kenny wants to hear what you have to say!”

“Gee, I’m sorry Kenny. I hope I didn’t upset you.” He rubs my back. 

“No, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. So how long after I left, did Kyle and Stan hook up?” I ask out of curiosity. 

“It was months later. It didn’t happen right away. Kyle has a hard time getting over you at first.”

“He did?” This is the first time I’ve heard that. 

“He missed three months of school and attempted suicide twice. He didn’t think he was ever going to see you again. Stan pulled him out of his state of depression. They’ve been inseparable since.” 

“I think you should go Butters.” Karen tells him. 

“I hope you weren’t thinking about trying to get back with Kyle now that you’re out of jail. That ship has sailed.” 

I nods. “I know Butters. Thanks for the information. It was nice seeing you.”

He pats me on the back. “Don’t worry Kenny, there’s other guys out there. I don’t know how many would want to date a murderer…”

I frown and push his hand away. “That’s enough! I’m not a murderer!” 

“Of course you are! You went to jail for killing your own father! How could you do that?” I look at Karen and I can see a look of concern on her face. I try to calm myself down so I don’t accidently slip and say the wrong thing. 

I look down and sigh. “It was in self defense...” 

Butters cocks his head to the side. “Huh? How do you stab someone twice in self defense?” 

I glare at him. “I’m not explaining myself to you or anyone else! Now leave me the fuck alone!” I yell out causing Butters to back away. 

Butters looks at Karen. “Oh no, I’ve made him cranky. I guess I better leave but he stabs me in “self defense”. I’ll see you around Karen. Call me sometime.” He kisses her on the cheek. 

“Umm…yeah sure. Bye Butters.”He leaves. Karen puts her arm around me. “Are you okay?” 

I shake head and begin shaking. “No! I’m pissed off! I’m sick and tired of the people in this town!” 

“Don’t pay Butters any mind. He’s a drunken idiot!” 

“It’s not just Butters, it’s everyone! You, Cartman, and Heidi are the only people that are treating me like a human being. Everyone else acts like I’m some animal that should be caged. I mean damn, I made a mistake when I was a kid! Don’t I deserve a second chance?”

Karen nods. “Of course you do. You’ll get it.”

“When?” 

“I can’t answer that.” 

I sigh. “15 years is a long time. So much has changed. Everyone is an adult now.”

“That tends to happen after 15 years.” Karen chuckles. 

“I’m so behind everyone. They’re working, have their own places, married and starting families. I don’t have any of that. I barely got a GED and I can’t even drive. I’m depending on you to support me.” 

“You’re being too hard on yourself. You just got out of jail, no one expects you to have any of those things right now.” 

“I guess so.” I take a drink. “So what’s the deal with you and Butters anyway?” 

“He’s my ex boyfriend.” 

I wasn’t expecting that. “You never told me you two dated.” 

“It was while I was in college. Butters is an alcoholic and he kept pressuring me to have sex with him. I eventually ended things. As you see, he’s still trying to sleep with me.” 

“Good for you for saying no!” 

“I’m just ready for that. At times, I think I am. However, when the moment arises, I tense up and can’t go through with it. Sorry if that’s too much information.” 

“It’s okay. So Butters is the only one?” 

“Ike too. I went through the same thing with him. I’m just not ready Kenny. I know that sounds weird. I mean, I’m 28 and I’m still a virgin. You think you’re behind, try being in my shoes.” 

“Can we change the subject? I’m a little uncomfortable with this topic.” 

“Sorry about that.” She orders another round of drinks. I feel really bad for Karen. She truly believes she’s still a virgin. She doesn’t remember being raped, but it’s clear it’s affected her life. Just add that to the list of reasons why she can never find out the truth…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kenny’s POV 

I’m out walking on my way back to Karen’s house after another potential job rejection. I swear, I honestly wish Karen would stop setting up these interviews. It’s not helping my self esteem. On the way back, I happen to walk through Kyle’s neighborhood. I end up running into Stan who’s walking his dog. “Hi Stan.” I greet him. 

He looks at me. “Oh...hey Kenny.”

I look down and to get a better look at his dog that’s a pitbull. I love those dogs. “Who’s this big guy?” I kneel down in front of the dog. “Hey there big fella! Who’s a good boy?” I try to pet the dog, who growls and barks at me in response. I quickly stands up. “Whoa!”

“He’s a She!” Stan corrects me. “This is Princess.”

I try to pet her again, but once again, she barks at me. “She’s a feisty one.” I chuckle nervously. 

Stan shrugs. “I guess she doesn’t like murderers.” My face drops when he says that. “See you around.” He starts to walk away. 

“Stan?”

He turns back around. “Yes?”

“I just wanted to say thank you.”

He raises his eyebrow. “For what?”

“For being there for Kyle while he was going through his depression when I got locked up.”

Stan frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“I know Kyle was took it really hard when I went to jail and-“

“Wow, you really have some ego, don’t you?” Stan interrupts me laughing. 

“Huh?”

“You think Kyle was that upset over you going to jail for murder?” He continues laughing. 

I nod. “I heard he tried to commit suicide because of it.”

“Who told you that?” 

“Butters.”

“Butters?” Stan laughs even harder. “You’re really going to believe Butters of all people?”

I shrug. “I didn’t have a reason not to.”

“He’s an alcoholic, you can’t believe half of the shit that comes out of his mouth!”

“Oh…” Well I feel kind of stupid. 

“Was Kyle upset when you went to jail? Yes, but he wasn’t depressed or suicidal. Get over yourself!” 

“I see. I’m sorry I thought otherwise.” 

“It’s cool dude. I actually should thank you.” He smiles. 

“Thank me? For what?”

“If you didn’t go to jail, Kyle and I may not have ended up together.” 

“Umm…you’re welcome.” This is becoming extremely awkward. 

“Just as long as you remember that Kyle is MY husband.” He makes sure to put the extra emphasis on that. 

I nod. “I know and I respect that.” 

“Good.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “I like you Kenny, regardless of what you did. I don’t want my opinion of you to change.” 

I wasn’t expecting that at all. “So then why were you so cold towards me when I came to your house?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I thought you were trying to steal my husband!” 

“To be fair, I didn’t know you two were married, much less even a couple.” 

“You live with his brother. He didn’t tell you?”

I shake my head. “I’m not exactly one of Ike’s favorite people.”

“That makes sense. He’s not happy about you living there.” 

I nod in agreement. “He’s made no secret of that. As soon as I get a job and save some money, I’m getting out of there.” 

“That’s for the best. Ike doesn’t deserve to feel uncomfortable in his own home.” I take that as my cue to leave. 

“I better get going…” I tell him as I turn to walk away. 

“Good luck with everything dude. It can’t be easy adjusting to life outside of jail.” 

I look back at him. “I’m doing my best. See you around.” He waves and we both walk off in opposite directions. 

Kyle’s POV

Stan is out walking the dog and Emily is napping. I’m in the living room having a few beers with Ike. He’s more irritated than usual. He only comes to visit me when he’s upset about something. “I want him out of my house! Can’t you give him a job with you or something?” Of course that something…or should I say someone is Kenny. 

“I wouldn’t mind helping him out, but Stan would never go for that.” I explain to him. 

“Tell him to get over it! You’re doing me a favor!”

“Why do you let him bother you so much?”

“He’s wasting space and electricity in my house for free! I don’t appreciate it! Plus he’s a murderer! What if he decides to kill us?” He gets up and starts pacing back and forth. 

“Has he done anything to make you feel like your life is in danger?” 

“Well…no, but-“

“Then you’re worried about nothing.” I tell him. “You need to stop. He’s not harming you in any way.” 

Ike sits back down and picks up his beer. “He should leave town. He’s not wanted here anyway. His own family, besides Karen, doesn’t even want him around.” 

That breaks my heart to hear that. He doesn’t deserve to be rejected by his family. “Where is he supposed to go? He doesn’t know anywhere else but here.” 

Ike narrows his eyes at me. “Why are you defending him?” 

“I’m just stating the obvious. He needs to be somewhere with someone familiar. Unfortunately, that’s your place because of Karen.” 

Ike shrugs. “Maybe she needs to leave too. Flora and Filmore hardly come home anymore because of him. They’re thinking about getting their own place. We don’t feel comfortable with him there.” 

“I’m sorry dude. I don’t know what I can say or do.” 

“I’m going to tell Karen he has to go and if she doesn’t like it, she can go too.” 

“You would do that to Karen?” I know Ike has feelings for Karen, so I couldn’t imagine him being that cruel to her. 

He nods. “I don’t want to, but I will.”

I sigh. “If it will make you happy, I’ll try to convince Stan to give him a job.” 

“A high enough salary too so he can leave!” 

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best to convince him.” That’s going to take a lot of convincing. Stan doesn’t want me to associate with Kenny…at all!

“Thank you. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll commit another crime where he’ll end up back in jail. You know his type won’t be able to stay out.” 

“Don’t stereotype him. He’s not as bad as you think.” 

“You don’t know. You clearly didn’t know him back then and I’m sure he’s no different.” 

I look out the window and see Stan returning. “Here comes Stan, let’s not talk about Kenny anymore. I promise you, I’ll try to convince him later.” 

“Fine. Do your best!” 

Kenny’s POV

I decided to stop at the convenience store to get a pack of cigarettes. Karen gave me some money, I know I should’ve used it for food, but I needed the cigarettes more. It’s starting to get dark, so I decided to take a shortcut. I stop quickly to light one of the cigarettes. “Well look who it is! Kenny McCormick!” I hear a familiar voice call out. I turn and see Craig Tucker and Clyde Donovan approaching me. 

“You murderer!” Clyde yells out as he spits on me.

“Uh oh!” I knew it was a matter of time before I ran into some more trouble.

“How the hell did you get out of jail?” Craig asks. He takes the cigarette out of my hand and puts it out on my nose. Fuck! That burns! 

“I-I was released on good behavior…” I refuse to let them see me sweat. 

“I don’t get how you can kill your old man and still get out of jail!” I hear another voice. I turn and see Craig and Clyde’s fathers approaching me in the other direction. Shit! I’m cornered. 

“Yeah! You should’ve been giving the death penalty!” Mr. Donovan shoves me and kicks me in the back. 

“I-I was just a kid! I made a mistake and paid for it.” 

“If you really paid for it, you would still be behind bars!” Craig shoves me nearly knocking me down, but Mr. Tucker catches me. 

“Stuart deserves justice!” He turns me around and punches me in the stomach. I grab my stomach in pain.

“You guys are insane!” I tell him as I try to run away, but I don’t get very far. Craig and Clyde grab my arms. I try to break free, but they’re too strong and are able to restrain me. 

“Stuart was a good friend of mine!” Mr. Tucker tells as he pulls out a knife. 

“I know…I’m sorry.” I look away. Again, I’m not going to let them see me sweat. 

“He was my drinking buddy, you little punk!” With that, he stabs me in the stomach. I want to scream out in pain. I immediately think back to when I was stabbed in prison. 

“You guys made your point! Now, please leave me alone!” I beg.

“Did Stuart ask you to leave him alone when you stabbed him repeatedly?” He stabs me again in the stomach. Craig and Clyde release me and I drop to the ground clutching my stomach. 

“It was an accident…” I tell him. I swear things are beginning to go blurry. 

“Yeah? Well this isn’t!” He raises the knife, I move as much as I can, but I’m stabbed once again. This time, he gets me in the upper back. “How does that feel?”

“P-please…don’t…” I say in between coughs. I start coughing up blood. 

He kicks me so that I’m on my back and raises his knife once again. “I would say you’re going to join your father, but you’re not going to end up where he is!” I’m stabbed once again in the chest. I lie back and look up. That’s the last thing I remember before everything goes dark…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kenny’s POV 

I open my eyes and begin to look around. I don’t know where I am or what happened. Am I dead? “Oh good, you’re awake!” I hear Karen’s voice, then she comes into view. I look at her.

“I’m alive?” I ask. 

She smiles. “Of course. You’re back at the house.”

“Oh...” I try to sit up and I immediately feel pain in my stomach. “Oh shit!” I clutch my stomach.

Karen’s eyes widen as she gently lies me back down. “Don’t try to sit up.”

“What the fuck?”

“You were stabbed.”

“I remember now...” I remember being attacked by Craig, Clyde, and their dads. Mr. Tucker is the one that stabbed me. 

“Do you remember who stabbed you?”

“No, sorry.” I lie. 

“It’s okay. I hope they figure it out soon. They deserve to be jailed!”

“Yeah...” I’m sure the police are really trying to find them. They’ll probably only be punished for not succeeding in the mission. I try to sit up again, but Karen stops me. 

“Be still, you’re still recovering. You had to get stitches in your stomach, chest, and back. Luckily they didn’t hit a main artery or you would’ve bled to death.”

“How come I’m not in a hospital or anything?” I ask. 

She narrows her eyes at me. “Do you really want to know the answer?” I nod. “They wouldn’t treat you when they realized you don’t have insurance. Plus they recognized you...”

“So they were okay leaving me for dead? That’s not cool!”

“I’m sorry. But I had to turn to the one person I knew could stitch you up.”

I’m almost afraid to find out who. “Who?”

“Ike...”

As if things aren’t bad enough for me! “You’ve got to be kidding me! Ike?”

“I’m sorry Kenny. But if I didn’t get Ike’s help, you could’ve died.”

“Now I’m indebted to that asshole?”

“Kind of…” She looks away. 

“What do you mean kind of?”

“Well…I made a deal with him. If he saved your life, then you have to move out.”

Why am I not surprised? He couldn’t wait to get rid of me. “Where the hell am I supposed to go?” 

“I don’t know, but you can’t go anywhere until you recover.” 

“Why did you have to ask Ike for help?”

Karen shrugs. “He’s a surgeon! I wanted you to get the best care possible.”

“How did you find me anyway?” 

“The owner of the convenience store found you behind it, unconscious and bleeding. He called 911 and once you were at the hospital, they called me to come get you.” 

“Of course, they won’t treat a murderer…” I mumble. 

“That’s not true. They have an obligation regardless of your past. They just can’t treat you without medical insurance.” 

I look at Karen. “Why Karen?” 

“Why what?” 

“Why do you still treat me the same?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I killed dad. Everyone else hates me for it.” 

“I know you made a mistake.” She smiles. 

“Too bad no one else can see it that way. They want me dead as well.”

“So you do remember who stabbed you?” Karen asks raising her eyebrow. 

I shake my head. “No, I just remember them saying they wanted me dead for killing dad.”

“What business is it of theirs anyway?”

“They don’t take kindly to murderers in South Park, especially since I only served 15 years.”

“Can I ask you a question?” 

“Sure.”

“What exactly happened that night when you…you know…?” I knew it was a matter of time before she asked this.

“What happened?” I repeat as I begin to remember that night...

_I remember coming home one night after spending a lovely evening with Kyle. “Oh yes! You’re a naughty girl!” I hear coming from Karen’s room._

_“Dad please…” Karen sounds like she’s out of it. I go up to her door to listen._

_“Quiet! I know you like it rough! Just like your mother!” Once I hear that, I open the door and I see dad on top of Karen. Oh my God! He’s raping her!_

_“No…”_

_Dad slaps Karen. “SHUT UP!” He holds a knife up to her. “I swear I’ll slice that pretty face of yours if you don’t be quiet!”_

_“What the hell is going on in here?” I yell._

_Dad glares at me. “Get out of here boy! It’s none of your business!”_

_“Get away from her, you sick fuck!” I shove him off of Karen. I look at Karen and she looks completely spaced out._

_“Are you trying to fight me?” Dad asks as he shoves me back._

_“If that’s what it takes! You just fucking raped her!”_

_“I did no such thing! She wanted it!” He says as he puts down the knife._

_“She’s your daughter! What the hell is wrong with you?” I try to get through to Karen. Her eyes are open, but she’s not responding. “Karen? Karen, are you okay?” I look at him. “Did you drug her?”_

_“She’s drunk!”_

_“She doesn’t even drink! You sick, perverted bastard!” I tackle him to the ground. We end up fighting. The next thing I know, he has me pinned to the ground and punches me several times._

_“What the hell?” Dad turns around and I notice there’s a little blood on his back. We see Karen standing behind him with a knife in her hand._

_“Karen, put down the knife!” I order her._

_“Give me the knife baby girl!” He tries to reach for it, but before he can get it, Karen stabs him in the chest and pulls the knife out. Dad clutches his chest and struggles to flee the room._

_“Karen, what have you done?” I look at her as she stands there with the knife in her hand. I can’t let her go down for this. I take the knife from her. I take her hands and wipe the blood from them on my shirt._

_“Kenny! Help me!” I hear dad yell from the living room._

_I order Karen to get back in bed and she complies. “You stay here. I’ll take care of everything, I promise.” I head out into the living room with the knife in my hand. I hear coughing. “Dad?” I look down and see him lying on the ground bleeding, still clutching his chest._

_“Don’t just…stand there, call 911…before I…bleed to death…” He says in between coughs._

_“Okay, I’ll call. You’re going to be fine.” I kneel down next to him and I immediately see fear in his eyes._

_“Why do you have that knife?”_

_“I’m not going to hurt you…”_

_“Then why-“_

_“What the fuck is going on?” We’re interrupted by Kevin and mom who just walked in the door._

_“Stuart!” Mom runs over to him crying. I move out of her way and look at Kevin. He looks like he wants to kill me._

_“It’s not what you think!” I tell him._

_“Oh really?” Kevin kneels down by dad. “Who did this to you?”_

_“K-K…” Dad tries to get out, but he closes his eyes._

_“I’m calling the police!” A teary eyed mom leaves the room._

_Kevin checks dad’s pulse. “You son of a bitch! You killed dad!” Kevin yells._

_“If you would let me explain-“_

_“There’s nothing to explain! You have blood all over you and a bloody knife in your hand! He almost said your name.” It wasn’t my name he almost said, and I’m glad he didn’t say it._

_Mom returns and kneels by dad and takes his hand. “Help is on the way! Hang in there Stuart baby! Please, don’t leave me!” She starts crying._

_“It’s too late mom. He’s dead and Kenny killed him!” Kevin glares at me._

_Mom glares at me too. “If he dies, you’re dead to me!”_

“Kenny?” Karen calls my name, snapping out of my flashback. 

“Huh?”

“You zoned out on me.” 

I shake my head. “Sorry…what were we talking about?” 

“I asked what happened that night.”

“We had a fight. He got a knife and I ended up stabbing him.” I lie. 

“What was the fight about?” 

“I don’t want to get into it.” 

“I understand. You’ve been through enough tonight. You probably need to rest.” She fluffs my pillow and leaves the room. I’m glad she didn’t ask for anymore details. I want her to know as little as possible so she doesn’t end up putting the pieces together on her own.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kyle’s POV 

Stan and I are in bed cuddling while watching a movie. “Honey?” He looks at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything...” He begins playing with my hair.

“You know how Kenny is out of jail now, right?”

“Uh huh...” He responds nonchalantly. 

“And you know how he needs a job?”

“Uh huh...” His tone has changed to an annoyed one. 

“Well, I was thinking...” I let out a deep sigh. “…maybe we can hire him at the clinic.”

“No!”

“Oh come on Stan! Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?”

“A second chance to kill? I don’t think so!”

“Come on Stan! Kenny was your friend at one point.”

Stan raises his eyebrow. “Why is this so important to you?”

“It’s important to Ike. He wants Kenny out of his house, but he can’t go anywhere without a job.”

“That’s not your problem.”

I look down. “I know, but I feel bad for the guy. It can’t be easy.”

“Again, not your problem.”

“Don’t be like that Stan. Kenny needs someone to give him a chance.”

“Why does it have to be us?”

“Because we’re in a position to help.” I know how I can convince him. I begin to blow him. “Please…” I say with his length in my mouth. 

Stan moans with pleasure. “How can I say no now?”

I continue to blow him until he comes. “You really mean it?” 

Stan lies back on his pillow with a huge grin on his face. “Why do you do these things to me? You know I really don’t like this idea.”

“But it’s for me…and Ike.”

“It’s going to be awkward to have your ex boyfriend working with us.”

“Just remember he’s my EX. I’m with you and we have a family.” I kiss him. 

“What can he do anyway? He can’t work with the animals.”

“I didn’t even think about that.” I mean there really isn’t much he can do around the clinic without any real skills. 

Stan shrugs. “I guess he can clean up animal feces.”

I narrow my eyes. I’m a little offended by that. “Don’t you think that’s a little demeaning?” 

“He wants a job, right?”

“Yeah, but something better than that.”

“If that’s not good enough for him…”

“Okay, I’ll see if he’ll accept it.”

“The pay is minimum wage.”

I nod in agreement. “I guess that’s fair.”

“It’s $10.20 an hour…it’s more than generous to clean up shit!”

I smile and hug Stan. “I can’t wait to tell Kenny! He’s going to be so excited!” 

“I think I should come with you when you tell him.”

I knew that was coming. “That’s fine.” 

“Yeah…” Stan pulls back the covers revealing his hard on. “So how about another one of your famous blow jobs?” I nod and go down on him. I’m so happy I was able to convince Stan to offer Kenny a job. I just hope he’s willing to take it. 

Kenny’s POV

I’m lying down watching TV when there’s a knock on the door. Cartman walks in the room. “Hey dude.” He greets me. 

“Hey.” I say as I try to sit up. I’m still in a lot of pain so sitting up is damn near impossible. 

Cartman sits down at the edge of the bed. “I heard you about what happened. How are you feeling?” 

“I’m not sure. I feel like something may really be wrong deep down.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, my wounds are all stitched up and everything, but I feel like he did something wrong.”

“He who?” 

“Ike…”

Cartman shakes his head in disgust. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he fucked something up. I’m shocked that he even helped you since he wants you out of the way so badly.”

“That came at a price.” 

He frowns. “What?” 

“I have to move out as soon as I recover.”

“That son of a bitch! I should go downstairs and kick his ass!”

I shake my head. “Don’t bother. But I have to ask you a favor. I know you and Heidi are about to have a baby, but-“

“Of course Kenny.” He interrupts me. “I mean, I will have to talk it over with Heidi, but I’m sure she’ll be okay with it.” 

I smile. “Thanks dude. I promise I won’t stay long. As soon as I get a job, I’ll save up some money to get my own place.”

“Take all the time you need. Now we need to talk about something serious. Who stabbed you?” I knew that was coming. 

“I…I don’t kn-“

“Bullshit Kenny!” He slams his hand down on the bed. “I know you know! I can see it in your eyes.” 

“Mr. Tucker…” I look away. 

“Craig’s dad? Why?”

“I was attacked by Craig, Clyde, and their dads. Craig and Clyde held me down and Mr. Tucker started stabbing me. He’s upset because I killed his drinking buddy.”

“This is getting out of hand! Don’t you think it’s time for the truth to come out?” 

“Shh! No!” I say in a loud whisper. I’m not sure where Karen or the other roommates are, so it’s important that we keep our voices down. 

“Why not? Karen has the right to know that she’s the real killer! Why should you keep suffering for it?”

“Cartman-“

“You could get stabbed again and may not be so lucky the next time around!”

“What if that were to happen to Karen and she wasn’t so lucky? How am I supposed to live with that?”

“I just think you’re making a big mistake. Enough time has passed, tell Karen!”

“Tell me what?” We turn and see Karen standing in the doorway. Shit! She looks back and forth at us. “Well?” 

I look at Cartman who gives me a “go ahead” signal. “I’m going to move in with Cartman.” I tell her. 

“Really?” She looks at Cartman. “Thank you so much! I’ll cover any of Kenny’s expenses.”

Cartman forces a smiles. “Don’t worry about it.” Cartman glares at me before turning his attention back to Karen. “You know, you may want to take Kenny to see a REAL doctor. Just to make sure Ike stitched him up properly.” Why would he tell her that? 

Karen frowns. “Ike’s a surgeon, he wouldn’t mess that up.”

“I would believe that if he did it for anyone else.”

Karen looks at me and I shrug. She looks at Cartman. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll take him to a clinic to get checked out.”

“It will make me feel better.”

“Consider it done.”

“Karen, can you give us a few more minutes, please?” I ask her. 

“Sure.” She leaves the room. 

“Do NOT bring up the murder in here anymore! She almost heard us!” I whisper. 

“You had the perfect opportunity to tell her the truth and you chickened out. The only reason I didn’t tell her is because it’s not my place!”

“I did the right thing.”

“If you say so.” He stands up and heads towards the door. “I’m going to go and talk to Heidi about you moving in. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Thanks again dude.”

“You still need to reconsider this…for your own safety.” 

“I’m not changing my mind!” Cartman shrugs before leaving. I can’t change my mind about this. Karen deserves the happy life she’s living. I’m not going to ruin that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kenny’s POV 

“Here’s your new room.” Cartman tells me as he takes me to the guest room at his house. I slowly make my way in the room behind him. I’m still recovering, but I’m able to get around now which is a plus. I look at the room, it’s a decent size and it has a tv. Anything is better than a jail cell. 

“Thanks again dude. For everything!” I tell him as I sit down on the bed and I make the mistake of putting my hand on my stomach in pain.

“No problem. I still think you need to have those wounds checked out.” I was hoping he didn’t notice. 

“I’ll be okay.” I tell him as I force myself to smile. 

“I’m not sure about that. You shouldn’t still be in that much pain.” He lifts up my shirt. “Plus those stitches look infected.”

I quickly pull my shirt down. “Dude, I’m okay. I promise. I just need to lie down.”

“All right. I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.”

“Sounds good.” Cartman leaves the room closing the door behind him. I immediately lie down and put my hand on my stomach. I lift my shirt up and it’s red with a little swelling where the stitches are. It sucks not having insurance and unfortunately, I can’t afford to have a doctor look at this. I just have to hope and pray everything will be okay. 

About an hour later there’s a knock on the door. I’m sure it’s Cartman so I tell him to come in. To my surprise, it’s Heidi not Cartman. “You have visitors.” She smiles. I swear this girl is going to pop any day now.

I sit up in shock. “I do? Is it Karen?” Heidi moves aside and in walk Kyle and Stan. 

“Hey dude!” Kyle greets me. 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you two. How did you know I was here?” I ask them. 

“Ike told me.”

“Of course he did...” I mumble. 

“If we’re not welcomed, we can always-“ Stan begins to say. 

“No, no! You’re fine!” I smile. “What brings you by?”

“We wanted to see how the job search is going.” Kyle tells me. 

I shrug. “It’s going. No one will hire me because of my conviction.”

Kyle looks at Stan, then at me and smiles. “That’s going to change.”

I raise my eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I...” Kyle looks at Stan who gives him that “look”. “I mean WE want to offer you a job at our clinic.”

My eyes light up. Are they really offering me a job right now? “Really?”

“Yes. Are you interested?”

“Of course I’m interested I need a job. What do you want me to do?”

“Custodian work. Unless you think you’re too good for that...” Stan smirks. 

I shake my head. “Not at all! I had to do that while I was in jail so that’s no big deal.”

“How soon can you start?” Kyle asks. 

“I can start tomorrow!” I reply eagerly. 

“Come in at 8 and we’ll have you fill out the paperwork.”

“Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!” I really want to give Kyle a big hug and kiss right now, but I know that wouldn’t go over so well with Stan. 

“You’re welcome. I just want you to get on your feet.”

“Don’t make us regret this.” Stan adds in. 

“I promise, you won’t!”

“Great, so we’ll see you tomorrow morning. Here’s the address.” Kyle gives me a business card just before they leave. I can’t believe it! After almost two months of rejections, I finally have a job! I probably should’ve waited until I’m fully healed to start, but I knew that might not go over well with Stan. I’m going to prove myself to them, let them know it’s all business!

Kyle’s POV

“I still don’t like this.” Stan tells me on the phone. It’s Kenny first day and Stan had to stay home with Emily because she’s sick. 

“Baby, it’s going to be fine.” I try to reassure him. 

“You should’ve stayed home with Emily today so I can get Kenny started!” I can tell he’s pouting. It’s so cute. I giggle like a school girl. 

“Stan, you can trust me alone with Kenny. Nothing is going to happen.”

“You, I trust…”

“Don’t be like that. Kenny knows we’re happily married. He’s not going to try anything.”

“Oh Kyle, you can be so naïve sometimes.” I notice Kenny walking in the door. 

“He’s here, I got to go.”

“If you need me, call me.” 

“I will honey. I love you.”

“I love you too.” I hang up and walk over to Kenny.

“Hi Kenny.” I shake his hand. Even though we’re friends, I still have to be professional. 

“Hi, sorry I’m late. I’m still learning the bus schedule.” He explains. 

I look at my watch. “You’re right on time.” I smile. 

“I know, but I was trying to get in early.”

“Dude, you’re fine. Let me take you to go fill out the paper work so you can get started.” I escort him to the back. I notice he’s moving a little slowly and he has his hand on his stomach. I heard he got stabbed a few weeks ago, but I don’t think this is the appropriate time to bring that up. 

“I want to say thank you again for the opportunity.” He tells me as he quickly moves his hand down to his side. 

“No problem. I know you were having a hard time so I figured if I can help, why not?”

“I really appreciate it.” He smiles at me. I can’t help but stare into his baby blue eyes. I swear when I look into his eyes, I see the Kenny that I once loved, not the murdering psycho he turned out to be. 

“Um…you’re welcome.” I quickly snap out of my thoughts. I point at an office door. “That office in there is HR. The head of HR is Annie Polk, you may remember her. She’ll get you squared away as far as the paper work goes. When you’re done, report to me and I’ll get you started on your first task.”

“Got it!” He heads into the office. 

Kenny’s POV

So I’ve been on the job for two hours and so far all I’ve done is cleaned up animal cages. Good God, they were disgusting. My next task is to clean the bathrooms. I’m heading that way, when I’m stopped by Kyle. “Kenny?” I look at him and see him carrying a small dog. “Can you come clean up this vomit, please?” He asks me and he points to the vomit on the ground. 

I nod. “Sure thing!” I immediately clean it up. At least this isn’t as bad as the cages. 

“Thank you for promptly taking care of that mess.” Kyle tells me. 

“That’s what I’m here for.” I look at the dog that Kyle is holding. “What’s wrong with the little guy?” I ask him. 

“He has roundworms. His owner didn’t get him treated when he was puppy so he’s paying for it now.”

“That’s too bad. May I?” I ask holding my arms out. 

“Well…technically, I really shouldn’t, but okay.” He hands the dog to me. “Hold him like he’s a newborn baby.” I do what he asks. “Be careful, he may throw up again.”

“I will.” I begin to pet him and he licks my hand. At least this dog is unfriendly unlike Stan and Kyle’s dog. “I miss having a dog. Karen told me ours died a few months after I went to jail.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll get another one once I get on my feet.”

“You should, they’re fun to have around. Here, I’ll take him.” He takes the dog from me. “You’re really good with animals.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, he seemed really content in your arms. Too bad you don’t have the proper certifications, I could use you as my assistant.”

“What kind of certification would I need?”

“A veterinary technician degree. You could get one in about two years.”

“I’ll look into that. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. You do have a high school diploma, right?” He asks. 

“GED...” I say slightly embarrassed. Here Kyle is with an advanced degree and his own business while I barely have a high school diploma. 

“Oh...well then you shouldn’t have a problem getting into a program if you apply.”

“Really?”

“I’m sure of it. I know you can do it.”

“I hadn’t really thought about it, but I guess I could look into it.”

“You should. Just because you went to jail for 15 years doesn’t mean you can’t turn your life around.”

“That really means a lot coming from you.” I immediately feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I try to hide it because I don’t want Kyle to know I’m in pain.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He puts his free hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure? If there’s anything you want to tell me, I’m here for you.”

“Ahem!” We turn and see Stan who has his hands on his hips. He doesn’t look happy at all.

“Stan…what are you doing here? Who’s watching Emily?” Kyle asks him. 

“I hired a nanny. What’s going on here?”

“I-I was just showing Kenny what we do. I introduced him to our latest client.” He shows Stan the dog. He doesn’t look like he’s impressed. 

“Why? It’s not like it’s his job.” Stan looks at me. “Don’t you have something to mop?”

“Of course. I’m on it.” I tell him. 

“I need to talk to you.” I hear Stan tell Kyle and then go in another room. I go to the men’s bathroom to begin cleaning. 

About 20 minutes later, Stan comes in the bathroom. “Kenny?” 

“Yes?” 

“There’s been a slight change.”

Oh no, he’s going to fire me. “Okay, what’s the change?”

“We’re going to have you work the overnight shift. 10pm to 6am, effective immediately.” 

I raise my eyebrow. “So what does that mean?”

Stan rolls his eyes. “It means you leave and come back at 10:00. Security will let you in.” 

“Oh…do you mind if I use a computer? I need to look at the bus schedule. I wasn’t prepared to leave early.”

He shakes his head. “Go wait at the bus stop. Eventually the bus will come.”

“Stan-“

“It’s Dr. Marsh when you’re in the office!” Stan snaps. 

“Okay, _Dr. Marsh_ , nothing happened between Kyle and me just so you know.”

“Not yet anyway. If I didn’t show up when I did, who knows what would’ve went down. I’m not going to let a murderer like you hurt my husband again.” 

“I respect that you two are married and would never try to come between you two.” 

“Sure you wouldn’t. Kyle is my husband and we have a child! Don’t you forget that!” He looks at his watch. “You better get going so you don’t miss your bus.” I nod and put away my cleaning supplies and get the hell out of there. I can feel the pain getting worse, but I can take the pain over pissing my boss off again and losing my job. The pain really isn’t that bad when I think about it…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kenny’s POV 

I wake up and see nothing but bright white lights. I look around and I spot Karen looking at her phone. “What’s going on?” I ask her. 

She looks over at me and smiles. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

“Am I in the hospital?” I ask as I continue looking around. 

“Yes, you-“

“I have to get out of here!” I interrupt her. “I can’t afford this!” I sit up quickly and feel pain in my stomach. 

Karen rushes to my side. “Relax! I’ll take care of your bill. The important thing is, you got here before it was too late.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. 

“You passed out outside of the clinic. You were rushed here and it turns out your wounds weren’t properly treated and your stitches got infected. That’s why you’ve been in pain.”

I roll my eyes. That explains everything. “Ike didn’t properly treat my wounds? Shocker!”

“Well they’re treated now! You should’ve listened to Cartman and went to see a doctor.”

It just hits me that she said I passed out outside of the clinic. “Shit! What time is it? I have to be at work at 10!”

She shakes her head. “You’re not going to work tonight.”

“I have to. My hours have changed and I don’t want to do anything that will make Stan fire me.”

“You’re not going to get fired. Kyle and Stan found you outside. They know you’re in the hospital.”

“Are you sure?” I’m sure Kyle will be sympathetic to my situation, but Stan on the other hand…

“Yes. Kyle is the one that called me and said they brought you here.”

“Oh... I still think I should follow up with them.”

“No need to.” I hear another voice say. I look up and see Kyle at the door with a “Get Well Soon” balloon. 

“Kyle?” I look at him in shock. 

“Hey dude, I came to see how you’re doing.” He hands me the balloon. I can feel myself blushing. I hope he doesn’t notice. 

“I’ll give you two a few minutes alone.” Karen says as she stands up. 

“No please stay!” Kyle tells her. He looks out the door, then back at Karen. “If you leave, Stan will think there’s something going on between us.”

“Is there?” Karen raises her eyebrow and smirks.

“NO!” Kyle and I yell out in unison. 

“We’re just friends Karen. You know that.” I remind her.

“Kyle just sounds guilty.” Karen shrugs. 

“You sound like Stan.” Kyle mumbles. 

“Just admit it. Deep down, you still have feelings for Kenny.”

“Karen stop!” I yell. 

“Okay, okay! I’ll stop teasing. You what brings you by anyway?”

“Well Kenny did pass out outside of the clinic, so I wanted to see if he’s okay.” He looks at me. “You are okay, right?”

“Are you worried he might sue?”

He shakes his head. “Well that didn’t even cross my mind. It wasn’t a work related incident.” 

“You don’t know that. Maybe you and Stan stressed him out to the point where he passed out.”

“Karen, you know that’s not true.” I look at Kyle. “The truth is, I’ve been in pain since I got stabbed a few weeks ago. It turns out my wounds weren’t properly treated and stitches got infected.” 

“I knew you were in pain earlier!” Kyle almost looks worried.

I nod. “I know. I tried my best to hide it.”

“Dude, I’ve known you forever. I know when something is wrong.”

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble with Stan.”

“It was my fault, I should’ve kept it professional with you and not let you hold any of the pets. I’m sorry I was out of line.” I wasn’t expecting him to apologize for such an innocent interaction. “Stan and I will be fine though, don’t worry.” 

“Do I still have my job?”

Kyle smiles and nods. “Of course. Take your time to come back. I don’t want you to overexert yourself again.” 

“As soon as the doctor clears me, I’ll be back. Hopefully it won’t be too long.” 

Kyle looks out the door and nods. “There’s Stan. I better go. Keep me posted on when you’re coming back to work.” 

“I will. Thank you for visiting.” 

“You’re welcome.” He looks as if he wants to say something else, but instead he leaves without a word. It was a little awkward.

“I don’t care what he says, he still has feelings for you.” Karen chuckles. 

“He loves Stan.”

“I’m sure he does, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings for you. I see the way he looks at you.”

“You’re looking at it all wrong.”

“Am I? I know you still have feelings for him. Isn’t there a small part of you that thinks or hopes he feels the same way?”

“I respect his marriage.” I tell her. 

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“That’s the answer I’m giving you. Now will you please drop it?”

“I’ll drop it...for now.” She smiles. I’m glad she’s letting this go. The last thing I want to do is give Stan or Kyle the impression that I’m trying to break up their marriage. As much as I love Kyle, I would never do that him…ever. 

Kyle’s POV 

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” I hear Stan on the phone as I’m coming in the house. I just came back from the grocery store so I guess he didn’t hear me pull up or come in. I follow the sound of his voice and find him in the living room. 

“I don’t want him at my job either! I don’t trust him with Kyle!” I put one of the bags down on the ground. Stan quickly turns around. “I better go.” He says before hanging up. 

“Who was that?” I ask. 

“On the phone? Oh, that was my mom.” I can tell he’s lying, he’s never been good at it.

“You were talking to your mom about Kenny?” I ask raising my eyebrow. 

“What makes you think I was talking about Kenny?”

“You said you don’t want him at your job and you don’t trust him with me. Who else could that be about?”

“You heard that?”

I nod. “Yes. Stan, how many times have I told you, you don’t have anything to worry about?”

“He still wants you. I know he does.”

“If he does, so what? I’m with you, not him.” I remind him. 

“You guys never had any real closure in your relationship.”

“I don’t need it.”

“But Kenny-“

I cut him off. “Stop worrying about Kenny.” I put my arms around him. “The job is only temporary until he finds something better anyway.”

“What if he doesn’t?” 

“He will!”

“Hi dad, hi daddy!” We turn and see Emily coming in the room to hug us. She calls Stan “dad” and me “daddy”. Her new nanny, follows behind her. 

“Hi sweetie! Did you have a nice time with your nanny?” I ask kneeling down to her level. 

She nods. “Yes, she’s nice.”

“Are you still feeling sick?” Stan asks her feeling her forehead. 

“No.” 

“Good.” I look at the nanny. “Kristy, can you give Emily a bath and get her ready for bed?”

“Sure thing Dr. Broflovski.” Kristy nods and takes Emily upstairs. 

“I really wish you would’ve talked to me before hiring a nanny.” I tell Stan. 

He shrugs. “It was a spur of the moment decision. Besides, we’re going to have two kids soon so we have a head start.” 

Wait, what? “I thought we were going to wait on the second baby...?” 

Stan shakes his head. “I don’t want to. The clinic is doing well and Emily is fully potty trained. We should go ahead and get our surrogate. That way our kids will be close in age.”

Again, what? That’s not what we discussed before. “Surrogate? I thought we were going to adopt again?”

“I decided I would like a child that’s biologically related to one of us.”

“This is a lot to take in…”

“Think about it, but not for too long. Then we’ll decide in a few days and pick our surrogate together. How does that sound?” 

“Umm…sure.” 

“Great! I love you baby!” He pulls me into a kiss. “I’m going to let Kristy know she can go home. Once Emily is in bed, we can have some daddy time!” He winks and goes upstairs. I begin to put the groceries away and think about what Stan just said. It sounds like he’s making big decisions without me. I’m not sure how I feel about this…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kenny’s POV 

It’s been a few days, but I have been released from the hospital and cleared to go back to work. I decide to go to the clinic early in hopes of catching Stan before he leaves so I can apologize. Luckily, I catch Stan just as he’s leaving. “Oh...you’re back.” He says looking shocked to see me. 

I smile and nod. “Yeah, I’m ready to get back to work.”

He looks at his watch. “You’re a few hours early. I hate to disappoint you, but Kyle has already went home for the evening.” He smirks. 

“Actually...I came early to see you.”

Stan seems taken aback. “Me? Why?”

“I wanted to apologize to you.”

“…for what?”

“I didn’t mean to chat with Kyle while on duty. I swear to you, all we were doing is talking. It won’t happen again. I promise to keep it strictly professional from now.”

He nods. “Good. I don’t think that should be an issue now that your hours have changed. The only person you’ll see is security.”

“That’s fine. I want to thank you again for giving me a job.”

“You’re welcome.” He starts to walk away, but he stops. “Kenny listen, I really don’t have a problem with you.”

“Then why is there so much tension between us?”

He turns towards me and narrows his eyes. “I think you know the answer.”

“No I don’t.”

“It’s because of Kyle.”

“I told you before that I’m not after Kyle.”

Stan frowns. “I can’t tell.”

“Remember you guys came to me and offered me a job. I didn’t ask.” I give him a friendly reminder. 

“That doesn’t mean you flirt with my husband when you think I’m not around!”

“I wasn’t flirting with him! I helped him with a sick puppy and then he was giving me advice about my future! That’s it!” It’s pissing me off that he turned something so innocent into me flirting with Kyle.

“You were being touchy feely with Kyle and you were blushing.”

“That’s not true!”

“Don’t play dumb with me McCormick! I know what I saw!”

“It’s not at all what you think.”

He gets closer to me. “I’m putting you on notice, if you try to go after my husband again, your next stab wounds will be fatal!”

“Don’t you dare threaten me!” I say in a low tone.

Stan backs away. “Like I said, I’m putting you on notice! Since you’re here, go clock in and get to work! Have a nice evening and remember what I said!” He rushes off. If only I can make him understand that I’m not after Kyle. I just want Kyle to be happy. If Stan makes him happy, then so be it.

Ike’s POV

“That son of a bitch had the nerve to try to intimidate me!” I’m on the phone with Stan, and as usual, he’s bitching about Kenny. I grab a bottle of Jameson and a glass and head up to my room. This may be awhile. “I can’t take much more of him working at the clinic!”

I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry you have to deal with him, but I had to get him out of my house.”

“If he somehow gets Kyle to come back to him, I’m holding you personally responsible!”

I can’t help but laugh. “It’s up to you to make sure that doesn’t happen. He’s your husband!”

“We hired him as a favor to you. The least you can do is make sure your brother doesn’t stray.”

“I’ll do what I can. Okay?” 

“I’m holding you to that! You need to tell Karen she needs to put a muzzle on her brother!”

“I’ll take care of it.” We hang up. 

Karen’s POV 

I’m heading to my room to relax for the evening, when I pass by Ike’s room. He gestures for me to come in his room. “Hey Karen!”

I frown. “What do you want?” I ask as I reluctantly walk in the room. 

“I just wanted to see how Kenny’s new job is going.”

I eyeball him suspiciously. “Why do you care? You almost killed him with that botched operation!”

He gets up and takes my hand. “How many times do I have to apologize for that? I was under pressure from you to save his life.” 

“You still could’ve taken your time and did it right!” 

“I’m sorry!”

“Sorry isn’t good enough!” 

“Don’t be like that. You know you can’t stay mad at me.” He starts massaging my shoulders. I get really tense and push him away. 

“Yes I can! You’ve been a complete bastard to my brother since he got out of jail!” 

“Well now that he’s no longer under our roof, everything’s fine.” He smiles. 

I shake my head. “It’s really not. That’s my family! How would feel if I treated Kyle that way?”

“The difference between Kyle and Kenny is Kyle isn’t a convicted murderer!”

“It was an accident and he did his time. Hasn’t he been punished enough?”

Ike starts laughing. “I don’t understand how you can defend a man that murdered your father. Who’s to say he won’t turn on you and murder you?” 

“He won’t! He stabbed my dad in self defense! If he didn’t, he would be the one dead not my dad.”

He raises his eyebrow. “You really believe that?” 

“Yes I do!” I shout. “Kenny wouldn’t lie to me about something so important!” 

“I bet your dad was innocent. He’s using self defense as an excuse to make himself look good. Don’t believe it!”

“You don’t have to, but I do! I love my brother and I believe him.” I begin to walk out of the room. 

“Don’t leave!” Ike grabs me and pulls me back into the room. I push his hands away. 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore!” I wipe my eyes. 

He turns me towards him and lifts my chin up so I’m looking at him. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just think you’re very naïve when it comes to Kenny. If he were as innocent as he’s trying to pretend to be, he wouldn’t have been given a life sentence. Think about it.”

I turn away from him. “I said I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” 

“Fine, I want to talk about something else anyway. Like us.” He stares me up and down smiling. 

“There is no “us” Ike.”

“There was a time when there was.” He pulls me close to him and begins kissing me. “I would love to get back to where we once were.”

I push him away. “I could never be with a guy that nearly killed and put my wounded brother out on the street!”

“He left on his own.” He starts kissing my neck. 

“Because you told him he to leave since you “fixed” him!” I can’t believe he’s putting this on Kenny.

“You said you don’t want to talk about that anymore. I don’t either. Fuck Kenny, he’s a homewrecker…” He stick his hands under my nightgown and tries to grab my panties. 

“Ike, stop it!” I push his hand away. 

“Shh!” He tries it again. 

“I mean it, get off of me!” I shove him as hard as I can. I end up pushing him down on the bed and he grabs my arm and pulls me down with him. 

“Come on, it’s time to let this happen! You’ve been fighting me for years.” He whispers in my ear. He begins to pull down my underwear. 

“I can’t…” I tell him as I try to push him away.

“Shh, let it happen…” He whispers as he grabs my grab and squeezes it tightly. 

“I said NO!” I slap him with my free hand. He slaps me back and then pins me down on the bed with his body. 

“I’ve had enough of you telling me no! You get me all hot and bothered and then you say no! I’m sick of it!” He punches me. 

“Ike…” I whisper as I begin to tear up. 

“Shut up!” He slaps me. Then suddenly, I look at Ike and I see my dad’s face. SHUT UP!

“Please stop…” I whimper. 

“I said shut up!” He punches me several more times. Then he rips my nightgown off. 

“Dad please…” At this point, I’m in tears. I’m trying to fight him off, but he’s too strong. 

“I’m not your dad, but you can call me daddy!” He finally gets my underwear off and inserts himself inside of me. He begins pounding me forcefully. It’s painful, but I feel dead. 

“Please…” I try to cry out, but it’s like my voice isn’t working. 

“Oh yes, you naughty girl!”He bites my cheek really hard. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 years!” He begins choking me. I look around and see a liquor bottle next to his bed. I grab the bottle and hit him in the head with it, shattering the bottle. He stops what he’s doing and plops down on top of me. 

“Ike…?” I try to push him up and slide out from underneath him. “Ike?” I poke him, but he doesn’t move. I can see blood on my fingers. I look and see his head is bleeding. I cover my mouth. “Oh God, what have I done? I have to get help! I have to get help right away!” I run to my room and grab my jacket and my purse and quickly rush out of the house and into my car. “I think I killed him…” I whisper to myself as my hands begin shaking.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Karen’s POV

I haven’t stopped shaking or crying since I left my house. My vision is so blurred I can barely see while driving. I pull up to Cartman’s house and I try to compose myself before I get out to ring the doorbell. I don’t want to alarm them.

I walk up to the door and hesitate before I ring the doorbell. I ring it once and there’s no answer. I look and see both Cartman and Heidi’s cars in the driveway so I ring the doorbell again. After a few minutes, Cartman opens the door. I look down. “Karen? What are you doing here at this hour?” He asks me. 

“I need to see Kenny…” I sniffle.

“He hasn’t come home from work yet. Come on in.” He lets me in. I sniffle again as I walk in. I look at him and his eyes widen. “What happened to you?”

Before I can answer, I see Heidi coming down the stairs. “Eric Honey, who was...oh my God! Karen, what happened?” She rushes over to me. 

“Ike-“ That’s all I can get out before I bury my head on Heidi’s chest and sob. 

“You don’t have to say anything else…” She whispers as she comforts me. 

“Oh shit! When Kenny finds out...” Cartman states. 

“We need to get her to the hospital.”

“I agree. I’ll get our coats.” Cartman tells her. 

Kenny’s POV 

Since I went to work a few hours early, I was able to get off early. Thank goodness because I’m exhausted! I’m grateful for the job, but it’s a lot. As soon as I open the door, I see Cartman standing on the other side with his coat on. He looks shocked to see me. “Kenny? You’re home early.”

I nod. “I went in a few hours early. I didn’t expect you to be up so late.” I stare him up and down. “Are you going somewhere?” 

“There’s a problem…”

I wasn’t expecting that. “Is the baby okay?” I ask out of concern. I know Heidi is due any day now so I would hate if something were wrong.

Cartman shakes his head. “It’s not the baby.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“Kenny...” I turn and see Karen and Heidi. Karen’s face is bloody and she’s not wearing anything except a jacket and a torn nightgown. She looks shaken and scared. 

“Karen, what happened?”

“Ike, he...he...” She struggles to get out in between tears. I’m already fearing the worst. 

“He did this to you?”

She nods. “Yes! He raped me!”

I’m immediately filled with anger. “I’ll kill him!” I turn towards the door, but Karen grabs my hand. 

“You’ll go to jail again!”

“I don’t give a fuck! Give me your keys! I’m going to take care of that son of a bitch right now!”

“You can’t drive nor do you have a license!”

“I’ll learn!”

“Don’t do something stupid! He’s not worth it!”

I’m so pissed off that this happened again and this time, I wasn’t around to protect her. Unfortunately, she’s going to remember this one. I have to try my best to keep her calm. “You need to get to the hospital to get checked out.” 

“We were getting ready to take her when you showed up.” Heidi tells me.

I look at Heidi. “Can you take her to the hospital? Cartman, you can take me to see Ike!” 

“Dude, Heidi is going to pop anytime now. She really shouldn’t be driving.” Cartman explains. 

Heidi rubs his shoulder. “Babe, it’s okay. If my water breaks, I’ll already be at the hospital.” She chuckles. 

“So can we do that?” I ask Cartman. 

“Fine…” I notice the hesitation in his voice. “I’m only agreeing to this because like Karen said, I don’t want you to do something stupid.”

I shake my head. “I’m not, I’m just going to have a friendly chat with him.” I lie. I look at Karen. “I need your house key at least.”

“You promise you won’t-“

I interrupt her. “Let me worry about that. You just get checked out. With any luck, he’ll be the one going to jail.”

“Maybe not…” She looks down. “There’s something you need to know.”

“What?” 

“He might be dead…”

“WHAT? Karen tell me you didn’t…”

“I hit him in the head with a liquor bottle to stop the rape. He was out when I left.” I swear this is déjà vu. The only difference is Karen remembers this incident. 

“We have to get over there!” I tell Cartman as I open the door. 

“Kenny…?”

I turn towards Karen. “Yes?” 

“I need to…never mind.” 

I raise my eyebrow. I have the feeling there might be more to the story. “What is it?” 

“We’ll talk later.” 

“Let’s get you to the hospital.” Heidi tells Karen. 

“You call me when you guys get to the hospital.” Cartman says to Heidi before giving her a kiss. 

“I will. I love you.” She kisses him back.

“I love you too.” We head out the door. 

“You know what this means, right?” Cartman asks during the car ride. 

“Don’t say it…” I already know what he’s going to say and I don’t want to think about it. 

“Your sister may have killed another rapist.”

“I said don’t say it!”

“Now do you see why you should’ve been honest with her? This time she wasn’t drugged so she was aware of what she did. You can’t take the fall for this one.”

“Maybe I can…” I begin to think how I could spin this. 

“You can’t be serious. You’ve worked so hard to get your life back together! You’re going to risk everything and go back to jail to protect Karen?” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Umm…I’ve been out for two months and where exactly am I in life? I’m relying on my sister to support me financially, I feel like I’m mooching off you and Heidi, and the only job I could get was cleaning up shit. Is my life really together?” 

“These things take time. Don’t throw everything away on Ike.”

“I can’t let him get away with raping my sister.”

“You know there’s a chance he’s already dead.”

“I hope not. That’s too easy. He needs a real punishment!” As soon as Cartman pulls up to the house, I immediately get out of the car and unlock the door. It’s really quiet in here so I’m hoping that Ike is the only one here. Cartman finally joins me inside and closes the door. “You wait here, just in case Filmore or Flora comes home and tries to stop me.” I whisper to him. 

“If you get out of hand, I’m going to stop you.” I ignore that remark. I can’t be responsible for my actions when I get my hands on him. 

I head upstairs and look to see if he’s in Karen’s room. Doesn’t look like it. I go to his room next and there he is. He’s lying in the bed and I notice blood all over the sheets. I get closer to him to see if he’s still breathing and thankfully he is. Not for long! I shove him.“GET UP!” I shove him again, this time harder. 

“Filmore?” He opens his eyes slightly. 

“It’s not Filmore! Get the fuck up, you son of a bitch!”

He sits up and puts his hand on his head. “My fucking head...” He looks at me and frowns. “The hell are you doing here? You don’t live here anymore!”

“You bastard!” I grab him by his collar, pull him up, and slam him hard up against the wall. “How dare you rape my sister!” I punch him twice. He tries to fight me off, so I put one hand around his neck! He starts coughing. 

“She wanted it and enjoyed every minute of it! She was calling me daddy!” He begins smiling. He raped Karen and his fucking smiling? I can feel my blood boiling!

“FUCK YOU!” I slam him down on the ground and begin punching. All I see is red! At this point, I don’t care if this bastard dies! That will be justice for me! I can hear Ike laughing and trying to make excuses for his disgusting behavior and I continue hitting him. It’s to the point where my own hands are hurting. I can feel myself being pulled away.

“Dude, that’s enough!” Cartman tells me as he tries to hold me back. 

“No it’s not! He’s a rapist!” I break free from Cartman and I begin kicking Ike in the stomach, he’s at the point where he’s spitting up blood. I’m far from finished him. 

“The police are here, do you want to go back to jail?”

I stop the beating and look at Cartman angrily. “You called the police?”

He shakes his head. “No, but we need to get out of here before they arrest you!” He takes me out of the room and we go into Karen’s room. I hear the police officer go into Ike’s room. 

“Ike Broflovski?” He asks. 

“Yes…?” Ike replies weakly as he begins coughing. 

“You’re under arrest for the rape of Karen McCormick.” I can hear the sound of him being placed in handcuffs. 

“She tried to kill me! So did her brother!” I wish I had killed that bastard!

“You can explain it at the police station!” I hear them go down the stairs and out the door. I just want to hit him a few more times. I look down at my hands and see my knuckles are bleeding. If I have to go back to jail, it will be worth it to see that son of a bitch locked up too!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Stan’s POV 

Kyle and I are getting ready for work. I’m almost dressed, while Kyle is still in the shower. My phone rings from an unknown number. I’m hesitant to answer it, but I figured at this time of morning, it might be important. “Hello?”

“Stan? I need your help!” I realize it’s Ike. 

I frown. “Why are you calling me?” I whisper as I hear the shower turn off. 

“I’m in jail and I need you to bail me out.”

“Why call me? Why not Kyle or your parents?”

“I can’t go to them about this.”

“What did you do?”

“I was accused of rape.”

“Bye!” I get ready to hang up. I don’t want any part of whatever he’s involved in. 

“Don’t hang up! I was accused, I didn’t rape anyone. The bitch was ready to lose her virginity then had the nerve to cry rape!”

I raise my eyebrow. “Are you talking about Karen?”

“Yes! Then she sent Kenny to my house to kick my ass! I’m going to press charges for assault! I want him fired too!”

I laugh. “How would I explain that one?”

“You’re smart, figure it out. So are you going to help me or not?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Whatever you do, don’t tell Kyle. Got it?”

“Yeah dude, I got it.” I hang up just as Kyle comes out of the bathroom. 

“Who was that?” He asks me. 

“What?”

“On the phone. Who was on the phone?” 

“Oh...it was Butters.” I lie. “He needs my help.”

“Butters? Since when does he call you for help?” I can tell he doesn’t believe me. I can’t let him know I was talking to Ike though. 

I shrug. “I thought it was a little weird too. But he got arrested for public intoxication and wanted to see if I can bail him out.”

“You said no, right?”

I shake my head. “I told him I’ll see what I can do. I’m going to go to the station.”

“What about work?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. You can handle things without me for a bit, can’t you?”

He nods. “I can...”

“Good.” I kiss him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I grab my coat and head out the door. I hate lying to Kyle, but I would have a hard time explaining to him why Ike would be calling me of all people to bail him out of jail. There’s some things I’m not ready for him to find out yet. 

Kenny’s POV

I’m just getting home from work and I go to my room to check on Karen. It’s been a few days since the rape and I refuse to let Karen go back to that house with that animal. He’s out of jail and we have to go court about this. I already have a feeling I know what the outcome will be, but whatever. I will do anything to protect my sister. The house is quiet and empty as the only one here is Karen. Heidi had the baby yesterday so she and Cartman won’t be home for a few days.

I open the door to my room and I see Karen sitting up reading a book. “I’m surprised you’re still up.” 

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“How are you feeling?”

She puts the book down. “Not so good. I keep having nightmares.”

Damn that bastard! If only I could get my hands on him again. “About the rape?”

“Yes, but not about Ike…it’s about dad.”

My eyes widen. “Dad?” Could the rape triggered her memory?

“I keep having dreams that dad raped me. I was a little girl and I asked him stop. He told me I was naughty. Then I see blood everywhere.” She looks down at her hands. “I don’t know, it’s a little fuzzy. But it seems so real.” She looks up at me and stares. She doesn’t say a word…just stares. 

“What?” 

She raises her eyebrow. “The night…what really happened?”

“I told you already.”

“I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.” She continues to stare at me. It’s kind of freaking me out a bit. 

“You need to let this go. Clearly what Ike did was really traumatizing.” 

“Kenny, you’re lying to me.”

“Karen, I-“

She grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me. “Did dad rape me?” I look away from her as I see tears in her eyes. “Kenny? Did he?”

I can’t lie to her anymore. “He did…”

“When? Was it the night you killed him?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t I remember it?”

“He drugged you.”

She lets go of my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. “Tell me everything and don’t leave out any details.”

I let out a huge sigh. I always hoped this day would never come. “I came home I heard him in your room. You were asking him to stop. I went in your room and I caught him in the act. He had a knife to your throat and he slapped and threat to cut you. When he realized I was in the room, he told me to mind my business. I pushed him off of you and we began fighting.” 

“So…you killed him in my defense? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I wasn’t the one that killed him…” I look away from her. 

“Who did?” I look back at her. I can see the guilty look in her eyes. I just can’t say the words. “Are you saying…” She points at herself and I nod slowly. 

“Karen, I didn’t-“

“You spent 15 years in jail for a crime I committed?”

“I couldn’t let you go to jail. You were only 13!”

She looks down at her hands again. “So that’s why I keep seeing blood on my hands in my dreams?”

I nod. “You stabbed him twice. I wiped your hands on my shirt so I looked guilty. I never wanted anyone to find out the truth.”

“That explains why I was always afraid of…” By the look on her face, I can’t tell if she’s sad, hurt, embarrassed, or all of the above. 

“You don’t have to say it. Even though you didn’t remember, it was obvious it was in your subconscious.” 

“I wish you would’ve told me. I never would’ve let you go to jail for that.”

I take her hands. “I had to protect you. You’re my little sister. I’ll do it all over again if I have to.”

She looks at me in shock. “You can’t! I’m the one that knocked Ike unconscious. It’s time I take responsibility for my actions!”

I nod. “Yes, but I beat the shit out of him. I can guarantee you, I’m going to go back to jail.”

“But you don’t have to. You were defending me!”

“I went over there after the fact and attacked him. They’re not going to see it as self defense.”

“You can’t go back to jail Kenny! Not for this! You never should’ve been there in the first place!”

“That needs to stay between us.”

“How do you expect me to keep the sacrifice you made for me to myself? I killed someone…our dad! Everyone hates you for killing dad! I should be in jail! I should be the town pariah!” 

“You’re not going to jail!”

“But, you-“

I tug at her hands. “Don’t worry about me! You have more to live for than I do. I’ll be okay. I need to get some sleep, we’ll talk about this some more later.” She hugs me tightly. “What’s that for?”

“Thank you for everything!”

“Anything for my baby sister.” I hug her back. It actually feels good to get the truth out, but now I worry about what this will do to her…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Kenny’s POV 

I arrived at work for my shift, when I run into Kyle. “Hi Kenny!” He greets me with a smile.

“Hey. I figured you would’ve been gone by now.” I reply. It’s true, he was the last person I expected to see. 

“I’m just heading out. I hope you have a good shift.” He continues to smile. I’m honestly shocked he’s still talking to me.

I smile back. “I’m glad to see there’s no hard feelings between us giving the situation.”

He raises his eyebrow. “What situation?”

“With Ike…”

“You mean with him kicking you out?” Kyle shrugs. “Why would I be upset with you about that?”

He doesn’t know what happened? I figured Ike would go running to Kyle. “You think that’s what I’m talking about?”

“Aren’t you?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m talking about how I had to kick the crap out of your scum bag brother for raping my sister!”

Kyle’s eyes widen. “Wait, What?”

“You didn’t know about that?”

He shakes he’s head. “No, I haven’t seen my brother in a few days.”

“He raped Karen, so I kicked his ass! He went to jail, but he’s out now. I assume you parents posted his bail.”

Kyle frowns. “There’s no way in hell Ike went to jail and I don’t know about it!”

“I’m not making this up. Heidi took Karen to the hospital after it happened. Her night gown was torn and she had bloody bruises all over her face.”

“Where did this happen?”

“At their house. Karen hasn’t been back there since.”

Kyle narrows his eyes at me. “I really want to believe you Kenny, but my brother...”

“He’s a sick pervert! If I get my hands on him again-“

“You stay away from him!” Kyle screams leaving me in shock. “I know you two don’t get along, but he’s still my brother! I’m not going to let you slander his name!”

“You’re in denial! You know me Kyle! Why would I beat him up for no reason?”

“Why would you kill your own father?” He asks raising his eyebrow.

“Different situations...”

“No it’s not! You really need help! Maybe they should’ve kept you in jail! You clearly can’t function in society with the rest of us!”

“I can, but I couldn’t let Ike get away with raping Karen!”

“Stop saying that! It didn’t happen!”

“It did!”

He covers his ears. “I’m not listening to this!” He turns to leave, but then turn back around. “If you ever lay a hand on my brother again, I’ll fucking kill you myself! Got it?”

I frown. “Come on Kyle. This isn’t you.”

“I stand by what I said!” He storms off. This is not at all what I expected. I hope he realizes soon that I was telling the truth. 

Kyle’s POV 

I walk in the house and slam the door shut. Stan, who’s sitting on the couch on his phone, jumps up quickly. “I was wondering when you would be home.” He smiles at me.

“I saw Kenny before I left.” I inform him. 

His smile quickly fades. “Really?” He goes in the kitchen to fix a drink. I follow behind him. 

“He told me some crazy story about Ike going to jail for raping Karen.” Stan drops a glass on the floor. “What’s with you?” I ask looking at the broken glass on the floor.

Stan shrugs. “Clumsy I guess.” He gets the broom and that’s sweeping up the glass. 

“So anyway, he said he beat Ike up for this alleged rape. I’m pissed about that! He attacked him for no reason.”

“Maybe you should fire him...” Stan suggests. 

“I can’t fire him for something that happened off of work grounds, you know that.”

Stan throws away the glass. He walks over to me and puts his arms around me and pulls me closer to him. “Let’s not talk about Kenny anymore.” He runs his hand through my hair. “I have a surprise for you.”

I look at him in shock. “For me?”

“Mmm hmm.” He moans. “I’ve found the perfect surrogate to carry our kid.”

I back away from him. “You did what?” 

“She’s going to use your sperm and her eggs so this way the baby will be biologically related to both of us!”

“What?”

“Shelly is going to be our surrogate!” Stan smiles, he tries to hug me, but I push him away. 

“I never agreed to this!”

“You said you would think about it.”

“I’m still thinking! What’s the rush?”

“I want the kids close in age so they can grow up together.”

“We’re not on the same page about this so clearly we’re not ready!”

“You don’t want a baby with me?”

I nod. “I do, but not now. I can’t believe you would go behind my back and make a decision like this without taking to me first!”

“Come on Kyle-“

“Make yourself comfortable on the couch tonight!” I tell him as I start to head upstairs. 

Stan chuckles. “You’re joking, right?”

I turn and look at him. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“I’m sorry...” 

“Whatever! You’re still sleeping on the couch!” I go to our room and close and lock the door. I can’t believe he would make a decision like this without me! I’ve never been so angry with him! 

Kenny’s POV 

When I come home, I see Karen fixing her hair. “You’re up late.” 

She looks at me and shrugs. “I can’t sleep.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Why?”

“Well you haven’t given much of a reaction to me telling you the truth about dad.”

“I’m taking it all in Kenny. I’m fine.” She smiles. I can’t telling if it’s a fake or genuine smile. 

“I told Kyle about what Ike did. He didn’t believe me.”

“That’s too bad…” I’m not even sure she’s really paying attention to what I said.

“We have to go to court in a few days.”

“I know!” She snaps throwing down her brush. 

“So you want to talk-“

“Nope!” She cuts me off. “I’m going for a walk!” She grabs her coat. 

“At this hour?” It’s 6:30 in the morning.

“Nothing like an early walk before sunrise!”

“Just be careful!”

“I will! Bye!” She quickly runs out the room. I change into my pajamas when there’s a knock on the door.

“Kenny?” The door opens and it’s Heidi with the baby, baby Lucas. I’m not surprised she’s awake, since she had Lucas, she’s up at all hours of the night. She’s usually the only one awake when I come home from work.

“Hi Heidi!” I pat Lucas on the head. “How’s the little man doing?”

Heidi laughs. “He’s okay besides keeping me up all night.” She clears her throat. “I want to talk to you about Karen. I’m not sure if Eric has already spoken to you.”

I shake my head. “No he hasn’t. What about her?”

“I think you need to take her to see a professional. I’ve noticed a difference in her behavior since she’s been here.”

“Like what?”

“She cries out in her sleep…a lot. Eric and I have checked on her and she says she’s okay, but she’s tense and shaken so it’s obvious she’s not. Even when Eric touched her arm to make sure, she started freaking out and crying.”

I’m honestly surprised to hear this since Karen seems to be the complete opposite when I’m around. “Anything else?”

“She stays in the room a lot, the only time she comes out is to take a shower. We can’t even get her to come out to eat. We’re very concerned about her.”

“She seems fine around me, I mean I thought it was weird that she decided to go for a run at this hour. I’ll keep my eye on her.”

I notice Heidi seems to be holding back tears. “I can’t even imagine the pain she’s going through right now. I’m telling you Kenny, she needs help.”

I nod in agreement. “It’s possible. I think she’ll be fine once Ike is behind bars.”

“That still doesn’t change what happened. There’s only so much we can do for her.”

“I’ll talk to her and then take action from there.” Lucas starts getting fussy so Heidi leaves the room. Heidi may be onto something. She only knows about what Ike did, not dad. It’s possible that Karen may need professional help.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Karen’s POV

_“Here, drink some milk.” Dad hands me a glass._

_“I’m not thirsty.” I tell him._

_“It will help you sleep through the night.” He smiles at me._

_“Milk doesn’t do that...” I frown._

_“Drink it anyway and take your ass to bed!” He snaps._

_“Fine!” I snatch the glass from him and head to my room. I drink it and lie down thinking. It’s foolish of him to think that milk helps you sleep through the night. I have to remember that he’s an alcoholic so half of the time he’s drunk and talking nonsense…_

_While I’m sleeping, I feel a pain in my stomach and in my private area. I wake up and I see my dad naked on top of me. “Dad...?” I struggle to get that out._

_“Shh...” He continues to move up and down. As he moves, I can feel more and more pain._

_“Stop it, you’re hurting me...” I try to push him off, but either he’s too strong or I’m too weak._

_“Naughty girl!” He continues, but he’s getting rougher the more I try to fight._

_“Please...” I start crying._

_“You like it rough! Just like your mother!”_

_“No!”_

_He holds a knife up to my throat. “I’ll slice that pretty face of yours!” He gets up. I take the knife and stab him in the back. I pull the knife out of his back. He tries to take it from me, but before he can, I stab him in the chest. I pull the knife out. I look down at the bloody knife and my bloody hands._

_“I bet you won’t do that me…” I turn around and see Ike smirking at me._

_“Ike?”_

_He pulls me close to him and begins to pull down my underwear. “It’s time to let this happen! You’ve been fighting me for years!” He whispers._

_“NO!” I slap him._

_“Shut up!” He slaps me and begins punching me. He rips off my nightgown and begins pounding me forcefully._

“Karen?”

“Stop it Ike!” I cry out. 

“Karen!” I feel someone shaking me. I wake up and realize I was dreaming. I look and see Heidi. 

“Huh? Heidi? What are you doing here?” 

“I heard you crying out in your sleep again.” She says in a concerned tone. 

“Oh...” I realize the bed is wet. “Oh crap...” I put my hand over my head in embarrassment. I just wet the fucking bed. 

Heidi smiles.“Get up, I’ll get you some clean sheets.” I get out of bed and she takes the sheets and blankets off the bed and leaves the room. When she leaves, I take off my pajamas and my underwear and put on my robe. I’m about to go take a shower when she returns with clean sheets and begins putting them on the bed. 

“I’m so sorry. You have a newborn to take care of. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I was already awake.” She says as she finishes putting the sheets on the bed. She turns towards me and touching my arm. “Are you okay?”

I don’t know why, but in that moment and I completely lost it and break down. “I’m not. I don’t think I ever will be!” Heidi pulls me into a hug and lets me sob on her shoulder. “I can’t get that night out of my head or my dreams. Or should I say nightmares.”

“What happened to you was very traumatizing.” She says as she rubs my back. 

I wipe my eyes and look at her. “I have to face him next week when I go to court. I don’t think I can do it.”

“I know it’s not going to be easy, but you can do this. He deserves to be in jail so he can’t harm you or any other girl again!”

“It’s my fault this happened...”

Heidi seems taken aback. “How can you say that?”

I turn away from her. “If I had sex with him, he wouldn’t have raped me. I shouldn’t have led him on.”

“Look at me.” I look at her. “This is in no way shape or form your fault! Do you understand that?”

“It kind of is…”

“No it’s not! This was about control for him. You’re not to blame for his disgusting behavior!”

“It’s not the first time this has happened to me…” I mumble. 

“What?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. I misspoke.” I want to tell her about my dad, but I promised Kenny I wouldn’t say anything. I really want to get it out to someone, I really do. 

“I won’t pressure you, but if you ever want to talk, I’m here for you.” 

I force myself to smile. “Thank you. Again, I’m sorry to keep you from Lucas.”

She smiles back. “Don’t worry, Eric has him. I’m really worried about you. We both are.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Have you spoken to your mom about this?” 

I shake my head. “She’s angry with me for taking Kenny in.” 

Heidi’s eyes widen. “Are you serious? That’s her son.”

I nod. “Yeah, well I’m sure you can understand why she’s angry with him. My older brother is too. They really shouldn’t be though. Kenny is such a good person and he has a really big heart.”

She nods in agreement. “He’s a nice guy. He’s doing his best to get his life together. I hope one day he’ll be able to reconcile with the rest of your family.”

“I do too.” I smile. “Well I don’t want to hold you any longer.” I try to change the subject before I end up saying too much. 

“It’s no problem. You seem like you could use the company.”

“Actually, I’m going to take a shower and then try to go back to sleep.”

“Okay, well like I said, I’m here if you need anything.”

“Thank you Heidi. Thank you for everything!” We hug each other and she leaves the room.

Kyle’s POV 

I decided to pay Ike a visit to get his side of the story. I ring the doorbell and Ike answers and he looks really surprised to see me. “Kyle? I wasn’t expecting to see you!”

“Oh my God! Kenny really did a number on you!” Ike’s face and lips are swollen, his nose is clearly broken, and one of his eyes is swollen shut. I could kill Kenny right about now. 

“Stan told you what happened?”

I shake my head. “No, Kenny did.”

“Oh...come on in.” I go inside and he closes the door and escorts me to the living room. We sit down on the couch. 

“Why would you think Stan told me? I told him about it.” I found that question a little odd. 

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I just figured you would talk to him before Kenny.”

“I ran into Kenny before I left work. He told me what happened. He said you raped Karen and he beat you up.”

Ike nods. “He beat me up, but I didn’t rape Karen.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“We had sex. There’s nothing else to tell.” He replies nonchalantly. 

“So why does Kenny think you raped her?”

Ike chuckles nervously. “I don’t know, he’s crazy!”

I raise my eyebrow. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No...”

“So how did you get out of jail?”

“You knew about that too?” I nod. “Filmore bailed me out.”

“Filmore? He’s a bartender, where did he get the money?” Something about that doesn’t sound right. 

“Like you said, he’s a bartender. He makes really good tips.”

“I hope you paid him back.”

“I will.”

“So mom and dad don’t know about this?”

He shakes his head. “No, and I want to keep it that way.”

“Dude, if you’re innocent, then you have nothing to worry about. Besides, dad’s a lawyer and can help you.”

“I AM innocent, damnit!” He snorts.

“Then why did you hide it from your family?” 

He shrugs again as he looks at the ground. “Because I didn’t think you guys would believe me. No one else does.” He narrows his eyes. “Do you believe me?”

“I really want to…” Something about his story just isn’t adding up. 

“I’m telling the truth! Karen and I were fucking! I don’t know why she told Kenny it was rape! She’s such a little bitch!”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“I hope you fired Kenny!”

I shake my head. “You know I can’t, not for this.”

“Fine. I’m pressing charges against him anyway so he’s probably heading back to jail.”

“Is that really necessary?”

He points at his face. “Look at my face! Of course it’s necessary!”

“Don’t ruin Kenny’s life. Hasn’t he been through enough?” I know I probably shouldn’t be defending Kenny right now, but I feel bad for him. I don’t want to see him go back to jail over a misunderstanding.

“You can’t be serious Kyle! He beat me up for no reason!” 

“He thought he did…” 

I can see Ike’s face turn red with anger. “Well he didn’t! If you don’t support me, then you can get the fuck out of my house!”

“But Ike-“

He points towards the door. “Go! I don’t have anything else to say to you!” I get up and leave. With the way he reacted to everything, I’m starting to believe Kenny’s version of the story…


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I had rewritten this chapter multiple times. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 16

Kenny’s POV 

It’s a big day for Karen and me, well mostly Karen. It’s time for court and hopefully that bastard Ike is going to jail. “It’s going to be all right Karen.” I tell her as I look at her. She’s biting her nails, something she does when she’s nervous.

“I can’t do this!” She panics. 

“Why not?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to face him.”

“He can’t hurt you now or ever again.”

“But he-“

“He’s not going to do anything!” I interrupt her. “If there’s any justice, he’ll be sent to jail for a long time.”

She looks at me nervously. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“There’s a chance you’ll go back too...” She looks down at her nails. 

“That’s okay.” I put my hand on her shoulder and smile. She looks at me in shock. “As long as Ike is punished for what he did to you. I don’t care what happens to me.”

“I care! I can’t let you go back to jail because of me...again!” She looks away. 

“Keep your voice down!” I whisper loudly. 

“It’s the truth!” She begins to tear up. “It’s killing me that you lost 15 years of your life for something I did.”

“Let it go!”

“But Kenny, I-“

“I said, let it go!” I snap. She looks on in shock again. Just then, we’re called to come into the courtroom. Thank goodness. “Now come on, let’s get this over with.” I whisper to her. We walk in and to my surprise, the first people I see are Stan and Kyle. Kyle still looks pissed at me and Stan looks like he couldn’t be happier. 

Ike is called to the stand and the line of questioning begins. I can’t help but glance over at Kyle and Stan. Kyle isn’t making eye contact with me, but I notice Stan grabs Kyle’s hand and kisses it. He looks over at me and smirks. 

“I didn’t rape her!” Ike yells out. “We had sex and this son of a bitch,” he points at me, “came to my house and attacked me like a wild animal!”

“There was evidence that Ms. McCormick was raped. Your semen was found in her.”

Ike shrugs and begins to chuckle. “The little slut likes it rough, what can I say?”

“Fuck you!” Karen belts out. I shush her. The last thing she needs to do is lose it in court. 

Ike turns to her and smiles. “You are a slut! I knew that the moment I found out you fucked your dad when you were 13!”

Karen’s eyes widen. “What?”

“Oh excuse me, you we’re “raped”. Ike laughs. How the hell does he know about that? “How many times are you going to use that excuse?”

Karen stands up. “It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth!” I sit her back down. 

“The only truth is, you’re a whore!”

This time I stand up. “Shut the fuck up Ike, before I beat the shit out of you again!” I yell out.

Ike looks at the judge and smiles. “You hear that your honor? He just threatened me!”

I slam my hand down. “Yes, I threatened you! Don’t you dare call my sister a whore again!”

“She IS a whore!” I look at Karen who’s now in tears. 

The judge bangs his gavel. “I want order!” He looks at me. “Another outburst from you,” he looks at Ike, “or you, I’ll have no choice, but to find you both in contempt of court!”

“Your honor,” Ike begins, “I think Kenny should leave. He’s a cold blooded killer and to be honest, he scares me. I mean any man that can kill their own father, wouldn’t think twice about doing it to me.”

“I’m not leaving my sister.” I tell them. 

“Enough!” The judge yells. “Not another word out of either of you until I ask you to speak!”

“Yes your honor.” We say in unison.

The judge looks at Ike. “Now as I was saying Mr. Broflovski, according to Ms. McCormick’s medical records, she was raped that night. There were signs of a struggle and your semen was found inside of her. That’s no way you can justify this.”

“I’m being set up.” Ike lies. I wish I could strangle him for putting Karen through this.

“Oh really? Do tell!”

Ike points at Karen and me. “They’re setting me up! It’s what they do! Karen has sex and then she cries rape to Kenny and he takes care of it.” Ike glares at me. “Is that why you killed your dad, Kenny? Because he “raped” Karen? What kind of disgusting slut willing has sex with their own dad anyway?”

“Enough!” Karen stands up. I try to calm her, but she’s ignoring me. “I’m tired of your slander! I’m not a slut and didn’t have sex with my dad! It was rape! Just like Kenny didn’t kill my dad either!”

“Then who did?” The judge asks her. 

“Karen…” I give her a warning look. 

“Kenny, I’m sorry, but it’s time for the truth to come out.”

“Don’t do-“

“It’s okay.” She smiles at me. She looks at the judge. “It was me…” The courtroom is filled with gasps. 

“You?” The judge looks at her in shock. 

Karen nods slowly. “I didn’t remember until recently. I was drugged and somehow blocked out the entire thing. The incident with Ike brought it all back and Kenny reluctantly confirmed it.”

“I remember that trial.” The judge looks at me. “So you confessed to a crime you didn’t commit?”

I sigh. “My sister was only 13. I couldn’t let her go to jail for murder. It was self defense because he raped her. With our family’s history with the police always coming to our door, no one would’ve believed it! So, yes, I confessed to a crime I didn’t commit.”

“Your honor, doesn’t this narrative sound familiar?” Ike asks. “The only difference is I’m still alive to tell my story. Poor Mr. McCormick didn’t get that luxury.” 

“Shut up asshole!” I yell out. 

“Enough!” The judge looks at the bailiff. Bailiff, take Ms. McCormick into custody for the murder of her father, Stuart McCormick.” 

“No, you can’t!” I can’t believe this is happening. This is what I tried to protect Karen from the whole time. 

“Kenny, it’s okay.” She smiles as the Bailiff puts her in handcuffs. “I’m ready to accept whatever punishment they give me.” I watch as she’s escorted away. 

“I hope you get the chair!” Ike yells out to her. 

“I’m going to tell you one more time…” I warn him. 

“You’re not off the hook Mr. Broflovski.” The judge tells him. 

“How can you say that? She’s a liar! A liar and a murderer!” 

“Well based on evidence, you’ve committed a serious crime as well. Ike Broflovski, I sentence you to four years in prison for the rape of Karen McCormick!”

Ike looks at him in shock. “You can’t be serious!” 

“Take the suspect into custody.” Ike is placed in handcuffs. He’s kicking and yelling out curse words as he’s being taken out of the courtroom. The judge dismisses everyone.

Kyle walks over to me. “Are you okay Kenny?” 

I shake my head. “No I’m not. My sister could go to jail and it’s all my fault.”

“I’m sorry.” He sits down beside me. “But on a positive note, I think that was a very brave thing you did. I knew deep down you couldn’t be a killer.” 

“Thank you.” I say quietly. 

“Time to go Kyle.” Stan tells him as he comes over to us. 

Kyle looks at him. “In a minute.” He looks back at me. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about Ike.”

I shrug. “It’s okay. He’s your brother, so I understand.”

“Yes, but I shouldn’t have went off on you the way I did. Again, I’m sorry.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. 

“Let’s go Kyle!” Stan impatiently taps his foot. 

“I’ll see you later. Good luck to Karen.”

“Thanks...” I tell him as he leaves. I lower my head in shame. My worst fear just came true…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Kyle’s POV 

“I knew it was a bad idea for you to go!” Stan yells as we walk in the house. Kristy signals us to keep it down before going upstairs. 

“Why? That’s my brother!” I whisper loudly.

“Is that the only reason you went?”

“What other reason would there be?”

“So you can see Kenny…”

I shake my head. “No! I was mad at him at the time. I thought he was lying about Ike.”

“I still think he is.”

“DNA doesn’t lie. Trust me, I didn’t want it to be true either.”

Stan turns away from me. “I knew you weren’t over him…”

“Are you serious? Where’s this coming from?”

He turns back towards me with tears in his eyes. “He was supposed to stay in jail! Why did he have to get out? He ruined everything.”

“What are you talking about? What did he ruin?”

“We never fought like this when he was in jail!”

I hug him. “It’s all in your head! I don’t want Kenny, I love you and I’m married to you.”

Stan pushes me away. “You’re so different since he came back into your life.”

“How?” 

“You don’t want another baby.” He looks away from me again.

“I never said that. I said I wasn’t ready right now.”

“Before Kenny got out of jail you were.”

I shake my head. “No! After we adopted Emily, I always said I wanted to wait a few years before we have another one.”

“A few years is now!” He reminds me. “Are you planning to divorce me so you can have a child with Kenny? I highly doubt his sister will be a surrogate since she’s now in jail.”

“You’re being ridiculous! I’m not divorcing you! Stop being so damn insecure!”

“It was a mistake to hire him at the clinic!” He wipes his eyes on his sleeve. “I can’t believe I let you use sex to convince me to let that happen.”

“He works at night so we rarely see each other.”

“What about that time I caught you two flirting?”

I slap my forehead. “One, we weren’t flirting. Two, that happened before you changed his hours.”

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place! You never hold me like that!” He starts crying again.

“I wasn’t holding him! I put my hand on his shoulder. I was giving him encouragement.”

“You never give me encouragement...”

Now he’s being overly dramatic. “I do it all the time!”

“Do you still find me attractive?”

“Of course I do.”

“But you find him more attractive.”

“Again, where is this coming from?”

He wipes his eyes again. “Enough of this! I’m putting my foot down! If you don’t have feelings for Kenny, then you won’t have a problem firing him, right?”

“I can’t fire him for no reason!”

“Tell him he’s no longer needed.”

“He needs a job.”

Stan shrugs. “I’ll give him a good reference.”

“Remember Kenny is your friend.”

“He was, until he tried to steal my husband! So are you going to fire him or what?”

“What if he can’t find another job? He has to pay Cartman rent.”

Stan raises his eyebrow. “Is that your problem?”

“No, but I don’t want to see him struggle.”

“Again, is that your problem?”

“No...”

“So fire him! Unless you want our marriage to be over.”

I can’t believe he’s giving me an ultimatum. “If it will save my marriage...”

He puts his arms around my waist and kisses me on the forehead. “That’s all I ask. We were doing fine before he came back into our lives.”

“You made it a problem.” I mumble. 

Stan frowns. “What did you say?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. I’m going to go check on Emily.” I begin to head upstairs. 

“I think you should let Kenny know tonight he’s fired.”

I stop and turn towards Stan. “I’ll tell him tomorrow. He’s had a rough day as it is.”

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. You’re GOING to tell Kenny tonight that he’s fired. I’m not paying him more than I have to.”

“Stan, come on!”

“You come on. If you don’t do it, I will!”

I let out a sigh. “You win. I’ll tell him right away.” I see a smile on Stan’s face. I can’t believe he’s acting like this. 

Kenny’s POV

“It needed to happen…” Cartman tells me as he hands me a beer. 

I shake my head. “No it didn’t. This is what I tried to avoid all along.” 

“I can guarantee you she won’t spend 15 years in jail like you did.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re overreacting! Karen acted in self defense, she’ll be out before you know it.”

“I hope so…” I mumble as I take a sip of my beer. Just then, the doorbell rings. Cartman answers it. 

“What are you doing here?” He asks. 

“I’m here to see Kenny.” I realize it’s Kyle at the door.

“Does your husband know where you are? I don’t need any trouble here.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes he knows where I am!”

I walk over to the door. “What’s going on Kyle?” I ask him. 

“I came to give you this.” He hands me an envelope. 

“What is it?”

“It’s a termination letter.”

“You’re firing me because of what your brother did to my sister?”

He shakes his head. “I just think it’s best for all involved that we terminate your employment. You’ll get two weeks severance pay and Stan and I have written you letters of recommendation.”

I glare at him. “Dude, you know how hard it is for me to find a job. Don’t do this! Can’t we work something out?”

Kyle shakes his head again. “I’m sorry, but I have to.”

“This was Stan’s idea, wasn’t it? You wouldn’t be this cruel.”

“It was a mutual decision. I’m really sorry Kenny. Best of luck with your job search. Maybe you’ll have better luck since it turns out you really didn’t kill anyone!” He grins. 

“Yeah, whatever.” I tell him before closing the door. I open the envelope and read the letter. 

“Sounds like it’s time for you to get a lawyer.” Cartman tells me. 

I narrow my eyes. “With what money?”

“You can’t let them get away with this! It’s wrongful termination.”

I continue looking at the letter as if the words are going to change. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.”

“Whether it’s a surprise or not, it’s still fucked up!”

I nod in agreement. “I guess I better start looking for another job. Can I use your laptop?”

“Sure. I hate that you’re giving up on fighting them on this.”

“Some fights aren’t worth it…” I tell him before heading upstairs.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Kenny’s POV 

I’m using Cartman’s laptop to fill out job applications. Heidi sticks her head in the room. “You have a visitor.” She announces.

“Really?” I ask in shock. I’m kind of nervous to see who it is. I head downstairs and see my mom standing at the door. She looks more frail and thin than she did the last time I saw her. 

“Hi Kenny...”

“Mom? I’m kind of surprised to see you. I thought you hated me?”

She hugs me as tight as she can. I hug her back and I can feel her bones. “I’m so sorry honey!”

“Come on in.” I tell her before looking at Heidi who now has the baby in a stroller. “Heidi, you don’t mind, do you?”

She shakes her head and smiles. “Of course not. I’ll go on a walk with Lucas to give you two some privacy.”

“Thank you.” I tell her as she leaves. I turn my attention back to mom. “I’m really surprised to see you. That last time I did, you threw a bottle at me.”

“I know. I really believed you killed your father. I didn’t want anything to do with you. Now that I know the truth I have to ask, why would you protect Karen?”

“Why wouldn’t I? She was young and didn’t know what she was doing.”

“You ruined your life and your future! You can’t get those 15 years back!”

I let out a sigh. “I never wanted the truth to come out. I didn’t even want Karen to know, but she forced it out of me.”

“I hope Karen rots in there!”

“That’s your daughter!”

“My murdering daughter!”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing, well I can, but I thought my mom would be a little more sympathetic to Karen. “It was self defense! If she didn’t, dad may have killed her after he raped her!”

Mom shakes her head. “Stuart would never!”

“You obviously didn’t know your husband as well as you thought you did...”

“Stuart was a loving husband and father! He would never hurt any of you!”

I’m completely taken aback by her words. “Are you kidding me? He was an abusive alcoholic! He use to beat the shit out of all of us except for Karen!”

“It’s not true!” She covers her ears. I move her hands because I want her to hear everything I have to say! 

“Did he give you that many concussions that you forgot?”

“This isn’t about me, it’s about your murdering sister!”

“I walked in on dad raping her and he had a knife to her throat!”

She covers her ears again. “I can’t listen to this!” 

“You need to listen!” I yell and she moves her hands. “Dad isn’t this perfect guy that everyone is trying to make him out to be!”

“He was damn near a saint!”

I start laughing. “You’re joking, right? All those black eyes and bruises he gave you and you’re calling him a saint? What a joke!”

“He didn’t mean to hurt me. He always apologized!”

“Yeah and they he would do it again! Sometimes it was Kevin or me that would end up with bruises!”

“But that’s a far cry from rape and attempted murder!”

“You didn’t see it, but I did! We got into a fight that night after I tried to stop him.”

Mom takes my hand. “Look son, I came here to make peace with you. But you’re making it difficult by disrespecting your father’s memory this way.”

“Disrespecting his memory?” I laugh even harder. “I think we’re done here.” I head towards the door and open it. 

“Do you want to come back home?”

I close the door and glare at her. “No. I think I’m better off here.”

“You wouldn’t have to pay rent. Or worry about a baby waking you up.”

I shrug. “It doesn’t bother me. I’m 32, I should be on my own.”

“But you’re not on your own. You’re living with a friend. Being a burden to a married couple. I’m sure they want their privacy back.”

“They told me I can stay until I get on my feet.”

“If you move back home, you can get on your feet a lot quicker.”

I raise my eyebrow. “What’s the catch?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re suddenly offering me to move back home? You must want something.”

She nods. “Kevin is moving out.”

“Good for him.” But I’m sure there’s more to it than that. 

“I’ll be all alone.”

“So that’s why you want me to move back home?”

She nods again and grabs my hand. “Yes, we can keep each other company.”

I pull my hand away. “Sorry mom. I’ll visit, but I’m not going to move in.”

“You’re going to let your poor mother live in that house all alone. The house your father was murdered in?”

“If it bothers you that much, you could always move.”

“With what money?”

“That’s not for me to figure out for you.”

“Well if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” We begin to walk back towards the door.

“I appreciate it.”

“I’ll see you around.” I open the door and see Karen on the other side of it. “You!” Mom yells out. 

“Karen? You’re out of jail?” I wasn’t expecting her to be out so soon. 

“Murderer!” Mom slaps her. 

“Mom, please...” Karen tries to hug her, but mom backs away. 

“Stay away from me!” She looks at me. “We’ll talk later.” She leaves. I’m grateful that Karen is out of jail, but disappointed in the way mom treated her. 

Stan’s POV

“Dude, you have to file an appeal.” I’m on the phone with Ike who’s still in jail. Kyle is taking one of the dogs for a walk so I’m trying to finish this conversation before he gets back. 

“Things weren’t supposed to go this far!” Ike yells in a whisper. 

“Who the hell told you to rape Karen?”

“You said to do something to make Kenny snap.”

“But why rape?”

“I knew about her dad raping her.”

“How did you find that out anyway?”

“I overheard Kenny and Cartman arguing about Karen being the one that killed their father. I figured it was because she was raped by him. I kept quiet until I knew I could use it to my advantage.”

Figures the “genius” would figure things out. “Either way, you went too far. There’s nothing I can do to help you.”

“We had a deal! Kenny is out of the picture, right?

“Yes, Kyle fired him! We’re finally getting our marriage back on track!” I smile just thinking about all the great sex we’ve had since he fired Kenny. 

“So then you owe me! Hold up your end of the bargain!”

“This would be easier if you didn’t rape the girl.” I really don’t know how he expects me to help him, it was out of my hands the minute he raped her. 

“Figure it out or else!”

I’m in complete shock. “Are you trying to threaten me?”

“Yes! I’ll tell Kyle everything you’ve been up too. Including the baby thing, not to mention about you setting Kenny up to get stabbed.”

My eyes widen. “You wouldn’t! Kyle can never know about any of that, at least not yet!”

“I will tell him now if you don’t find a way to get me out of here! That’s a promise!” He hangs up. 

“Shit!” I mumble. I turn around and see Kyle. I quickly put on a smile. “Honey, how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough...”


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Kyle’s POV

I take the leash off of Princess and pet her before she retreats to the living room. I glare at Stan. “How was the walk?” Stan asks as he nervously puts his hand on the back of his head. 

“So you’re going to pretend I didn’t hear that?”

He chuckles nervously. “Hear what?”

“You talking to my brother.”

“You mean Ike?” I nod now feeling slightly annoyed. I don’t understand why we have to play these games. “Don’t be silly. What would we talk about?”

I guess he’s going to continue to play games. “I know this isn’t the first time you’ve spoken to him...”

“He was looking for you and I told him you were out.”

I raise my eyebrow. “When are you going to tell me the truth?”

Stan smiles. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” He tries to put his arms around me, but I push him away and he’s completely taken aback.

“Don’t sweetheart me!”

He backs away. “Like I said, Ike called looking for you.”

I put my hands on my hip. “So what about the other times he’s called?”

“He hasn’t...” He looks away from me. 

“You’re still lying!” I hold up a piece of paper. “I have the phone records. So if Ike was looking for me, why didn’t he call my cell?”

“Well, I, umm...” He begins rubbing the back of his head again. I’ve got him right where I want him. 

“You can’t think of anymore lies, can you?”

He looks at me. “It’s not what you think.”

“I want the truth! Or at least your version of it.”

He looks at me in shock. “What?”

“Ike already told me his side, so I want to give you a chance to tell your side.” I can see Stan is starting to sweat. I’m just wondering if he’s really going to tell me the truth. 

“What did Ike tell you?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. What’s your truth?”

Stan lowers his head and sighs. “He wanted us to help him get out of jail.”

“Us?”

He nods. “Yes, you and me. Us...”

“If that’s all it was, then why wouldn’t you tell me that?”

“I ignored it because I didn’t know how to help him.”

“What about before he went to jail? You were conversing with each other quite a bit. It conveniently started right after Kenny got out.”

“We barely talked.”

“Why do you keep lying to me?” I hold up the phone records. “Remember I have these.”

“I’m not.”

“Plus I told you Ike told me everything. You’ve felt threatened by Kenny so you wanted Ike to hell you get him out of the picture.”

Stan looks at me and pokes out his bottom lip. That’s not going to work this time. “Can you blame me? Especially after the way he was flirting with you? I think you enjoyed it.” He pokes his lip out even further. 

I roll my eyes. “I’ve told you before that you’re being ridiculous! That doesn’t excuse you’re behavior! Did you have to take things this far? I mean was it necessary for poor Karen to be raped just to get Kenny out do the way?”

Stan shakes his head. “I never told Ike to rape Karen. Plus according to him, he didn’t rape her.”

“What did you tell him then?”

“I told him to do something that would make Kenny snap so he would end up back in jail. That’s it.”

“You know how hard he’s trying to get his life together. Why would you do that?”

“I-“

I interrupt him as I’m really don’t in the mood to hear him try to justify this bullshit! “Not to mention, it’s your fault he was stabbed, wasn’t it?”

Stan shrugs. “I just told Craig and Clyde where he was. I didn’t know they were going to attack him with their dads...”

“You really want to keep lying, huh?”

“Sweetie…” He tries to put his arm around me again, but this time I shove him to the ground. He looks up at me in shock. “What the hell was that for?” 

“The biggest slap to me is you’ve been trying to manipulate me this whole time with this baby thing! When were you going to tell me that Shelly is pregnant?”

He stands up and tries to grab my hand. “She’s not...”

“What?” 

“She’s not pregnant. I thought she was, but it turns out it was a false alarm. I guess that’s my fault for trying to be deceptive.” I’m shocked, but also relieved because of what’s going to happen next.

“Yes Stan, using a turkey baster to get my sperm! I’m so disappointed in you!”

Stan quickly shakes his head. “I didn’t do that! Your brother suggested it, but I didn’t. Instead it was his sperm that was used.” I immediately slap him. “I deserve that.” Stan replies as he rubs his cheek. 

“I found a turkey baster in your nightstand! How do you explain that?”

Stan sighs. “Like I said, it was Ike’s sperm not yours. I just knew if we had a biological child you would forget all about Kenny. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Remember, Ike is adopted so using his sperm wouldn’t work out they way you wanted it to, you stupid son of a bitch!” I slap him again. 

“I-I didn’t think about it like that.” He looks away slightly embarrassed. “I couldn’t use my sperm and Shelly’s egg…that would’ve been gross.”

I put my hand up to silence him. “I want you out! Now!”

Stan chuckles nervously. “Come on baby, you’re not thinking rationally.”

“Yes I am!” I shout. “Now OUT!” I point to the door. “Looking to you makes me sick to my stomach!”

Stan, dejectedly walks towards the door. Before opening it, he turns back towards me. “I just have one question...what did Ike tell you?”

I smile. “Nothing, I just wanted you to think I talked to him so you would confess.” His jaw drops. “It doesn’t feel good to be manipulated, does it?”

“Dude...”

“Goodbye Stan…” He walks out. I pick up the phone and call Cartman. “Is Kenny around? I need to talk to him…”


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Kenny’s POV

Karen walks into my room. She sits her purse down, plops down on the bed, and lets out a huge sigh. “How was counseling?” She finally decided it was in her best interest to get counseling to deal with the rape incidents. 

Karen shrugs. “Eh, it was okay. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as emotional as I expected to be.” She looks at me and smiles. “But I do have some news! I still have a job!”

My eyes light up. “Really? That’s great!” I wish I could say the same. 

“Yes it is! I was so worried I would’ve been fired! I’m so glad I wasn’t. I’m going back next week.”

“I’m just glad that not only did get to keep your job, but you got out of jail.”

“Me too. All charges were dropped. I wish mom would’ve let me explain that to her.” She looks down when she says that last part.

“Don’t worry about her. The most important thing is, you’re out of jail and that bastard Ike is still in there where he belongs!”

She smiles at me. “That reminds me of my other good news, I’m moving back into my old place.”

I raise my eyebrow. “You are? Aren’t you worried that-“

“Nope! Ike is in jail so he’ll no longer be there. I spoke to Filmore and Flora about it and they’re totally cool with it. Besides, I’m sure Cartman and Heidi want their house back.”

“Yeah…”

“You know you can come too. Like I said, Ike won’t be there since he’s in jail.” 

“I don’t know about that. Filmore and Flora were just as uncomfortable with me being there as Ike was.” 

“It’s different now. Everyone knows you’re innocent. At least think about it. I still want to help you until you can get back on your feet. I owe you that much.”

“We’ll see.”

Just then, there’s a knock on the door. “Kenny?” I hear Cartman yell my name.

“Yes?” I yell back. 

He opens the door and holds out his phone. “Kyle is on the phone for you.”

“Really?” He was the last person I was expecting to hear from. 

Cartman frowns. “Yeah, it’s about time for you to get your own phone, don’t you think?” He tosses the phone at me and it lands in my lap. 

“Shut up dude!” I pick up the phone and clear my throat. “Hey Kyle, what’s up?” Cartman leaves the room, closing the door behind him. 

“Are you busy?” He sounds upset. 

I look at Karen who has a huge grin on her face. “Umm…I’m kind of busy. I’m talking to Karen.”

“He’s not busy!” Karen yells out.

“Karen!” I shriek as I put my hand over the phone. 

“You’re not!” She shrugs.

I put the phone back up to my ear. “Well…not exactly busy. Why?”

“Is it okay if I come by to see you?” Kyle asks. 

“Umm…It’s kind of late. Heidi is trying to put Lucas to bed.” I lie. I don’t know why he would want to see me. Where’s Stan? I’m sure he can’t be happy about this.

“Can you meet me out front in 10 minutes?” I swear I hear him sniffle and I start to feel guilty. He really needs someone to talk to.

“Sure.” I tell him. 

“See you then.” He hangs up. 

“I wonder what that was all about.”

Karen smiles. “Stop worrying. You’re going to spend time with Kyle!”

“Yeah, by why? He already fired me, what more can he do?”

“Maybe he’s trying to do damage control so you won’t sue.”

Why would she even suggest that? “I’m not planning to sue.”

“Either way, you get to spend time with the love of your life.” She grins from ear to ear.

“He’s married.” I remind her. 

“You can still love him from a distance. Just keep your hands to yourself.” She shoots me a warning look. 

I frown. “I was planning on it.” I stand up to give Cartman back his phone and to head out front to meet Kyle. Karen stands in front of the door.

“At least make yourself look presentable!” She tells me. 

I look down at my clothes. I’m wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Your T-shirt looks dingy. Don’t you have another one? Preferably one that isn’t white?”

“I’m just going to talk to Kyle. It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh yes it is! You should always look your best when you’re around the man you love!”

I roll my eyes and grab my orange hoodie to put on over my shirt. “Whatever. I’m going to wait for him out front.”

“Good luck!” Karen hugs me. 

By the time I finally make it outside, Kyle is out front waiting for me. “I’m glad you came out to see me. For a minute there, I didn’t think you were coming out.”

“What’s this all about?” I ask him. 

He moves closer to me and I see that his eyes are red from crying. “I want to apologize...”

“For what?”

“For firing you.”

I chuckle a bit. “You could’ve said that on the phone.”

He shakes his head. “I felt I owed you that in person.”

I smile and nod. “Thank, I appreciate it.”

“There’s more.” I can’t imagine what else he has to say. “I…I’m going to divorce Stan…”

My jaw drops. I wasn’t expecting to hear that. “Really? Why?”

“He’s not the person I thought he was.”

“Oh?”

“He felt threatened by you, but instead of trusting me, he tried to manipulate me and cause problems for you.”

I raise my eyebrow. “How did he cause problems for me?”

“He wanted you to snap and do something crazy so you would go back to jail. He was working with Ike to make that happen.” He looks away. “That’s why Ike raped Karen.”

My eyes widen. “That was Stan’s doing?”

Kyle nods. “Yes. He’s also the reason you were stabbed. He let your whereabouts be known.”

I can feel my blood boiling. In my mind right now, Stan would be worth going to jail for. “That son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill him!”

“I’m really sorry Kenny. I honestly had no idea.”

I try to calm myself down to hear what else Kyle has to say. “Is he the reason you fired me?”

Kyle nods and starts to cry. “I was trying to appease Stan. I didn’t want to.” Kyle wipes his eyes. “You were a good worker for what’s its worth.”

Seeing how upset Kyle is, further angers me. Stan never deserved a good guy like him. “So where’s Stan now?”

“He’s at a hotel.”

“Good, I’ll head over there and beat the shit out of him! He can get his wish!” I begin to walk off, but Kyle grabs the back of my hood.

“No Kenny! He’s not worth it!”

“It will be worth it to me! My sister was raped because of him! You’re here crying and upset because of him! I nearly lost my life because of that fucker! He’s not getting away with this!”

“Don’t throw away your future for him!”

“I don’t even have a future, so who cares?”

“You do! Please Kenny, Stan isn’t worth it! If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for Karen…or me.”

I glare at him. When I look at his face, I begin to calm down. “You’re right. He’s not worth it.” I wipe his tears. “Are you sure you really want to throw your marriage away because of me? I know how much you two love each other.”

“It’s not only because of you. Like I said, he was trying to manipulate me.”

“How so?”

“While he was trying to get you out of the picture, he was pressuring me to have another child. He had this plan to use my sperm and Shelly’s eggs to carry our child. I told him I’m not ready and he used Ike’s sperm and Shelly’s eggs, but I guess it didn’t work. I don’t know or care. I just can’t deal with that kind of deception.”

“I thought you two were planning to adopt again in another year or two?”

Kyle nods. “That was the plan, but Stan’s insecurities decided he wanted a biological child ASAP.”

“I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“This process is going to be difficult. Not only do we have a child and pets, but we have a house and a business.”

“Maybe you should try to work things out.”

“Not after this. I can never trust him again. He was plotting with my brother to take you down. I should’ve known something was up when Ike begged me to hire you.”

“He did?”

He nods again. “He wanted you out of the house as soon as possible.”

“Trust me, I wanted out as much as he wanted me out.”

Kyle shrugs. “In a way, it worked out.”

“Except I’m back to being jobless.” 

“You’ll get something soon. Listen, thanks for letting me vent.” 

“Anytime. What are friends for?” I smile. The next thing I know, Kyle pulls me into a kiss. I’ve waited 15 years for this to happen! I can’t believe it’s happening now. He kisses even better than I remember! I don’t want this to end, but he pulls away.

“I’ll see you later Kenny.” He smiles just before getting into his car and driving off.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. It took me awhile to get this chapter right. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 21

Kenny’s POV

A few months have passed since Kyle kissed me. It not only was a turning point in our relationship, it was one in my life in general. Let me bring you up to speed on what’s been happening. 

Karen bought a house and I moved in with her. No more leeching off of Cartman and Heidi. Unfortunately, I’m back to leeching off my sister. She thinks she owes me now that the truth is out, but I can’t let her take care of me until I get my shit together. I’m still searching for a job, but so far no luck. In the meantime, I’m doing chores around the house while Karen is at work so I can get an “allowance” from her. 

Karen and Cartman are taking turns teaching me how to drive. I passed my permit test so I just need more driving hours before I can get my license. It’s kind of pointless since I don’t have a car or money to get one.

Kyle is also helping me too. Since the job search isn’t working, he helped me get into a Veterinarian Technician program at the community college. He’s tutoring me because I’ve always sucked at science, but he knows I have potential to make a career out of it by how good I was with the animals at the clinic. 

He’s still going through the divorce process with Stan. He also plans to buy him out of his half of the clinic. When that happens, he’s going to hire me back full time. If not, then he plans to open up a new clinic. Either way, I have a guaranteed job at some point in time. I don’t know how long that’s going to be, which is why I’m still searching for a job to have some money coming in the meantime. 

You’re probably wondering what the deal is with the relationship between Kyle and me. We’re just friends. Yes, we’ve realized there’s still deep feelings there. However, while he’s still married we have to take things slow. The most we’ve done is kiss and that’s it. Things will be different when his divorce is final. 

Speaking of Kyle, I’m getting ready to go see him so he can tutor me. I send him a text letting him know I’ll be there in about 30 minutes. That’s another thing I forgot to mention. I finally have a cellphone thanks to Kyle. He hated having to go through either Karen or Cartman to get in touch with me so he bought me a phone. It will also make it easier for potential employers to reach me as well. 

As I’m about to leave, the doorbell rings. “Kenny? Can you get that?” Karen yells out.

“Sure.” I open the door and I’m shocked to see… “Kevin...?” What the hell is he doing here?

“Hey bro!” He greets me. 

“Umm...” I don’t even know how to respond. It’s been months since I’ve seen him and that last time I did, we didn’t exactly end on a good note. 

“I’m really sorry.” To my surprise, he pulls me into a bear hug. 

“Umm...” I don’t even know how to respond to him. 

He pulls away. “Can u come in?”

I slowly back away. “It’s Karen’s house. I would have to check with her first.”

Kevin frowns. “Come on dude! I’m your brother!”

“Kenny, who was at...YOU?!” Karen says in shock when she sees Kevin. 

“Hey sis! I came to apologize to Kenny, but he won’t let me in.”

“You really want to apologize?” Karen asks raising her eyebrow. 

“Yes I do.”

“Well Kenny it’s up to you if you want him to come in.” Karen gently touches my arm. “Only if you feel comfortable...”

I nod. “It’s fine. Come in.” Kevin walks in and I close the door. The three of us head to the living room. 

“I guess I owe you an apology too Karen.” Kevin tells her. 

“Me?” She asks surprised. She looks at me and I shrug. 

Kevin nods and takes Karen’s hand. “I didn’t know what dad did to you.”

Karen turns away. “I put it out of my head…”

“Still, I was a shitty older brother to both of you. I should’ve been there to protect both of you. If anyone should’ve killed dad and went to jail, it should’ve been me!”

Karen and I look at each other, then at Kevin. “So...you’re not mad at me for killing dad?”

He shakes his head. “Considering what that monster did to you, I don’t blame you. I even managed to get mom to understand why you did it.”

“Thank you…”

“No problem. I want all of us to be a family again. We’ve been estranged for too long.” He looks at me. “That includes you Kenny.” 

“But you hit me when I got out of jail...” I remind him. “I came to you for help.”

Kevin looks away and nods slowly. “If you had said from the beginning what had happened, I never would’ve let you take the fall. You were a kid.”

“I was worried about what would happen to Karen. She was the kid!”

“That’s why I said, I’ve failed you as a big brother. You couldn’t even come to me when you needed me. I’m sorry little bro!”

“It’s okay.” My phone goes off and I see it’s a text from Kyle asking if I’m still coming. Shit, I lost track of time. “That’s Kyle. I have to go.”

“Already?” Kevin asks. “I thought we could catch up some more. 

I nod. “Yeah, Kyle is going to tutor me so I can pass my biology exam. I’m trying to become a certified vet tech.”

“Good for you. So we’re good, right?” He extends his hand. 

“We’re good.” I smile and shake his hand. 

“Don’t stay out too late Kenny.” Karen calls out as I head towards the door. 

“I won’t.” I tell her just before heading out. 

Kyle’s POV

I’m tutoring Kenny on cell biology. We’ve been at it for over two hours and he’s having a hard time keeping up. “Come on dude, you know this!” I say as I’m trying my best to be patient. 

“I don’t! I failed biology in high school. You know that!” He buries his head in his hands. 

“So you’re just going to give up? Why am I wasting my time?” I stand up and begin to walk away. 

Kenny looks up at me. “I really want this. I don’t want to be a loser leeching off of my sister for the rest of my life.” 

“Then focus!” I slam the book down to the page he has to study.” You can’t take anatomy without passing basic biology.” 

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He looks away. “School has never been easy for me. I haven’t been in so long and it feels weird to go back.” 

I sit down and put my arm around him. “It’s not weird. It just shows you give a shit about your future.” I turn his head towards me. “Stop beating yourself up about the past. That’s over! It’s time to think about your future…” I begin to move closer to him. He closes his eyes as he knows what’s coming. 

“Daddy!” Shit! The nanny brought Emily back in too soon. Why the hell do I keep her around if she can’t follow simple instructions? Kenny and I quickly act like nothing was going to happen.

“Hi baby!” I give her a hug and give Kristy a dirty look. 

“Sorry Dr. Broflovski, it was getting chilly out and she wanted to come back inside.” 

“It’s fine!” I tell her through gritted teeth. 

“When is Dad coming home?” Emily asks me. I swear she asks me this question every day. 

I kiss her on the forehead. “Soon! Your dad and I will sit down with you and have a chat, okay?” 

“Okay…” I can tell she’s confused. 

“I want you to go play with your toys with Kristy. Daddy is helping…a student with his school work.”

“Okay daddy.” She takes Kristy’s hand and they head upstairs. 

“Cute kid.” Kenny smiles. 

“Thanks. I would’ve given you a proper introduction, but I don’t want to confuse her or play 20 questions.” 

Kenny raises his eyebrow. “What do you mean confuse her?”

“I don’t want her to think I have a new boyfriend. I’m still legally married to Stan.” I remind him. I damn sure don’t want to give Emily the wrong impression. 

“For now.” Kenny smiles as he squeezes my hand. 

“Yeah, my divorce will be final next month.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know. We’re going to share custody so that will limit some of my free time.”

“I see...” He moves his hand. 

“Don’t worry, I promise I’ll make time for you.” This time I grab his hand. 

“Even though you’ll have your daughter?”

I nod. “When she’s not with me, I’m all yours. At some point in time I would like you two to get to know each other.”

“I would like that.”

“Really? I thought you might not be comfortable around kids.”

“I had a little experience living with Cartman and Heidi.”

“Well Emily is older and little more active than Cartman’s son.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be okay.” Kenny smiles.   
“We probably should get back to studying before Emily comes back down.”

Kenny nods in agreement. “You’re right. Plus I told Karen I wouldn’t be out too late.” I know Kenny wants me as much as I want him, but we definitely have to take things slow. I’m still married to Stan so I don’t want to start anything new with Kenny until that situation is over. I just hope he can be patient with me a little while longer. 

Kenny’s POV

I decided to head to the store to buy cigarettes. On my way home, I see Stan. As much as I want to punch his lights out, I know it’s in my best interest to keep my distance. “You!” He calls out. I continue walking. “I know you hear me!” He yells as I continue to ignore him. He manages to catch up to me and grabs me and turns me so I’m facing him. 

“What? What do you want?” I ask him feeling very irritated and violated. 

Stan narrows his eyes. “Don’t get testy with me! Not after you’ve ruined my life!” 

“I ruined your life?” I ask. 

“Kyle is divorcing me because of you! I guess you’re fucking him by now, huh?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no I’m not.” I try to walk away, but he stops me. 

“I knew you were going to ruin my marriage! I fucking knew it!” 

I shake my head. “YOU ruined your marriage by lying and manipulating Kyle! You tried to ruin my life in the process. I don’t understand why you’re not in jail!” 

“In jail for what?” 

“Conspiracy! My sister was raped because of you! I was stabbed because of you!” 

“I never told Ike to rape her!” 

“I don’t believe you! You sick bastard!” I lose it and punch him knocking him down. “That’s for my sister!” I punch him again. “That’s for Kyle!” I kick him in the stomach. “That’s for me!” 

“You son of a bitch!” He grabs a knife and stabs me in the knee.

“You little-“ I put my hand on my wound as Stan slowly stands up. 

“I’m going to finish the job Craig, Clyde, and their fathers started!” He raises his knife. I tackle him to the ground before he can lower it. We begin to struggle and before I know it, I black out…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only one chapter left!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Kenny’s POV 

_I don’t know where I am, but it seems like I’m really far from home. I’m wandering around and I notice a familiar looking figure. I walk closer to it and put my hand on its back. “Kyle...” I whisper._

_He turns and sure enough it’s Kyle. He puts his finger to my lips. “Shh...” He pulls me into a kiss._

_“I just wanted to tell you that I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you…” I whisper to him._

_“Kenny...” He begins to back away from me._

_“I never said anything before because of your marriage, but since it’s practically over...”_

_“Shh...” He continues to back away._

_“Do you love me too?”_

_“Kenny...” He begins to fade away._

_“Kyle? Don’t go!”_

_“Kenny...” He has completely disappeared._

_“Kyle please! I love you!”_

_“Kenny...” I still here his voice, but I don’t see him._

“No! Kyle, you have to listen to me...” I whisper. 

“I’m right here dude.” I feel someone squeeze my hand. 

I open my eyes and I see Kyle smiling at me. I guess I was dreaming. “W-what? What’s going on? Where am I?”

“In the urgent care.” Kyle informs me. 

I remember my struggle with Stan and I sit up. “Where’s Stan?”

“He’s getting checked out and then he’s going to jail.”

“Oh my God! Did I stab him?” Crap, I could be going to jail too. 

Kyle shakes his head. “No, but he stabbed you, that’s why you’re here.”

I nod. “I remember him stabbing me in the knee. I also remember we were in a struggle over the knife.”

“You lost consciousness due to blood loss. He also slashed your face, you had to get 25 stitches.” 

I touch my face and I can feel a bandage on my face where I was cut. I guess I passed out before that happened. “If I’m the one that was stabbed, then why is he getting checked out?” 

“He stabbed himself in the shoulder. He was trying to frame Karen.” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Karen? She wasn’t there.” I’m really confused. 

Kyle nods. “She showed up looking for you and found you unconscious and bleeding. She called the police so he stabbed himself so he could tell the police that Karen snapped again and killed you and attempted to kill him.”

I can feel the anger I felt towards Stan coming back to me. “That fucking moron!” 

“What he didn’t know is Cartman was with Karen and recorded everything.” 

“How did they know where to find me?” 

”You told Karen you were going to the store, when it took you too long to return home she called Cartman and they went to look for you and found you and Stan. Karen confronted Stan while Cartman recorded it.” 

I shake my head in disgust. “Wow…I can’t believe Stan would try to go that far.”

“I’m not. He’s so insecure when it comes to you. I’m sorry you had to go through this.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I feel responsible. I should’ve stayed away from you until my divorce is final.”

I look at him and smile a bit. “I’m glad you didn’t…”

Kyle takes my hand and smiles back. “You we’re talking in your sleep.”

“I was?”

He nods and continues to smile. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Umm...” I remember the dream I had about him and I can feel my face turning red. 

“Come on Kenny!”

“What did I say?” Maybe I didn’t say what I think I said…I hope…

“You said you never stopped loving me.” He bends down and kisses me. “The feeling is mutual baby.” He kisses me again. “I never stopped loving you either.” I know this isn’t a dream even though it feels like one. I’ve waited so long to hear those words. 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because of my marriage. I wasn’t planning to leave Stan.”

“You still could’ve told me how you felt.”

He shakes his head. “I respected my marriage vows and my family. I didn’t think there would be a chance for us to be together so I kept it to myself.”

“So Stan really did have a reason to be jealous?”

“No he didn’t!” Kyle yells. “I never acted on those feelings! We would still be together if he didn’t sabotage the relationship!” He grabs my hand. “I don’t want you to think this divorce is your fault. Stan made his bed so now he has to lie in it!”

“I see. Well I guess it was worth all the hell that he put me through.” I smile at him.

“I wouldn’t go that far! He could’ve killed you!” 

“We’re going to make sure he spends the rest of his life in jail for it!” We turn and see Karen standing in the doorway. 

“Karen!” 

She hugs me tightly. “I’m so happy you’re okay! Cartman had to get back home to his family, but he’ll be checking on you later.” 

“Thank you for showing up at the right time.” 

“You’re welcome.” She pulls away and gives me a stern look. “From now on, you’re no longer walking to the store alone! This is the second time this happened!”

I roll my eyes. “Oh come on!” 

“I mean it! If you need cigarettes, I will drive you myself!” 

“Karen, I’m not a child!”

“I didn’t say that, I just want to protect you.”

“I’m fine, really. I can handle walking to the store alone.”

“I agree with Karen. You shouldn’t go alone. Well, you really shouldn’t be smoking, but that’s another story.” Leave it to Kyle to bring that up. 

“You guys are going too far. It’s over! The truth about Dad’s murder is out and Stan is going to jail. I don’t think anyone else is targeting me.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be on the safe side?” 

“I am! Besides, I’m getting my license soon so maybe you’ll let me take your car!” I wink at Karen. 

“You’re still learning to drive. I don’t know if I want you driving alone right away.” 

“Again, I’m not a child…”

“I know you’re not.” She hugs me again. “I’m just glad you’re okay, but I had to see for myself. I’ll leave you two alone.”

She’s leaving to avoid continuing this conversation where she knows I’m right. “Thanks again for finding me at the right time. I can’t thank you and Cartman enough.” 

“You’re welcome. You’ve protected me in the past so now I’m returning the favor. I love you.” She kisses me on the forehead.

“I love you too. I’ll see later.” 

“See you. Bye Kyle!”

“Later.” Kyle replies as Karen leaves. 

“I love my sister, but I can’t wait until I get on my feet so I can move the fuck out! She treats me like a little kid!” 

“Well…I think I can solve your problem.”

I raise my eyebrow. “How?” 

“You can move in with me…”

My jaw drops. “Are you serious? What about Emily? What will you tell her?”

“She knows you’re my friend. I won’t say anymore than that until the divorce is final. You can stay in the guest bedroom.” 

“I-I don’t know what to say…” 

“You can start by saying “yes” and ending with a thank you followed by a kiss.” 

“But I can’t afford to pay rent or anything.”

“It’s okay!” He takes my hand. “I WANT to take care of you! You can focus on finishing your program so you can come work for me. So what do you say?”

I smile and begin to tear up a bit. I nod. “Yes! Yes, I’ll move in with you! Thank you so much Kyle. You don’t know how much this means to me.” 

He hugs me. “I promise you, you won’t regret it.” We begin to kiss. I can already tell that things are finally going to go right for me now. All thanks to the love of my life…Kyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue coming soon!


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue 

Kenny’s POV

_Two Years Later_

“Dr. Testaburger, can you get this dog prepared for surgery?” Kyle orders Wendy as he hands her a beagle. 

She nods and pets the dog. “Sure thing Dr. Broflovski!” She tells him as she heads to surgery room. 

Kyle turns towards me. “Kenny, I need you to disinfect exam room number 2 for our next client, then help me with the surgery.”

I’m kind of surprised by the second request. “I’m helping with surgery? But I-“

Kyle puts his hand up. “Do you want to do it or do you want to question me?” 

“I want to do it.” 

Kyle smiles. “That’s more like it.” He sneaks in a quick kiss. “I’ll see you soon. You’re doing to do well.”

“Thanks Kyle…err…Dr. Broflovski.” I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve slipped and called him Kyle while at the clinic. 

Wendy sticks her head out of the surgery room. “Dr. Broflovski, we’re ready to get started!” Wendy informs him. 

“Thank you Dr. Testaburger.” He tells her. He looks at me. “Change of plans for. Put on your scrubs and assist with the surgery.”

“What about disinfecting the exam room?” I ask.

“I’ll have another staff member take care of it. Hurry, you have two minutes to get in here.” He goes into the surgery room. 

I finished my veterinary tech program and I’m now Kyle’s assistant. He hired me the day I got my certification. I’ve only been on the job for a month so I’m still in the learning process. I’m so grateful to finally have a job. 

Kyle hired Wendy a few years ago. She was working in another clinic in Denver where she felt unappreciated so Kyle gave her an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’s now Kyle’s business partner and Stan’s replacement. 

As for Stan, he was sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder. He and Kyle are officially divorced now. Kyle takes Emily to visit him once a month. 

Karen is still in therapy and is doing very well. She’s now back with Butters and they’re engaged. He’s also helped her a lot with some of her err…intimacy issues. She’s also helped him with his alcoholism. I wasn’t sold on the relationship at first, but I have to admit that they make a cute couple. 

Cartman and Heidi are still going strong. They just recently had another baby, a girl this time named Olivia. They asked me to her godfather. Kyle and I get together with them often. 

As for Kyle and I, we’re officially together! We made it official as soon as Kyle’s divorced was final. We got married a few months ago. My life is finally on track. I’m out of jail, I have a certification, I’m working, I married the love of my life, and we’re raising Emily whom I love like she were my own. We’re even preparing for the arrival of our own children…

You heard right! We’re having a baby or should I say babies! We took a page out of Stan’s book and decided to have a surrogate carry our baby. That surrogate is Karen! We have twins on the way, a boy and a girl due in 3 months. 

It was a rocky start for me, but in the end, life on the outside turned out to not be so bad after all. 

The End


End file.
